Life of a Winged Teenager
by Shadowed White Rosebud
Summary: Max has been in love with Fang for years. Between trying to raise the flock and saving the world, will they be able to be together, or will anything and everything come between them? Sometimes saving the world is easier...Fax, Niggy, Eggy
1. Chapter 1

Life of a Winged Teenager

Chapter 1

_Fwish! Bullets whizzed past my ear as I crashed through thorny bushes and stumbled over twigs, rocks and dead leaves, my heart hammering in my chest. I couldn't let them get me. I could run faster than them for a while, but the only thing that could totally save me now was a clearing. I glanced sideways in a panic as Fang came crashing through the bushes, too, Erasers dangerously close, no clearing in sight. _Wait, Fang?!

I jerked awake, breathing heavily. It shouldn't have been a big deal, that was the dream I kept having, over and over, every day, since I left the School and Jeb Bachelder gave us an escape. Always the same one, running from Erasers, lungs aching for air, fear of being caught and hauled back to the one place that God forgot, that facility in California. The School.

But it had always been just me. Never Fang. I remembered that wave of terror that was practically enough to make me heave, knowing that Fang was with me. They could take me. They could torture me, even. But I wouldn't let them take Fang. Sappy, right? I know. All this running from those evil scientists wanting to do MORE genetic mutations on us must have royally screwed me up in the head.

I looked over at Fang, asleep and leaning against the cave wall, mouth hanging slightly open. I gazed for a moment at the tall, dark haired boy, the one who'd always been my best friend and right hand man. I gave a small smile, one no one else could see. My eyes then jerked to the rest of the flock, Nudge, the small eleven year old, leaning against the tall, pale, strawberry-blonde and sightless Iggy. Angel, the youngest at the age of six, had her head in her brother, the eight year old Gasman's lap.

Silently praying that Angel hadn't "heard" my dream, I looked back at Fang. I know I hadn't liked it when he was kissing that girl, the Red-Haired Wonder, in Virginia, and there wasn't anything that suggested that he would ever be more than my "brother", my closest friend. But his invading my dreams, my awaking in terror, for the fear of his life? It was all too much, and I buried my head in my hands.

I sat in that position for a few minutes, thinking over the last few seconds and whatever else was on my mind, even replaying the last few months, from our days at the E-shaped house, to New York, to Anne's house in Virginia. Did I mention the stress of saving the world? It gets to you sometimes. I'm sure they sell the manuals at Target for that sort of thing.

After what seemed like a decade, I picked myself up off the cave floor and walked over to Iggy, tapping him twice on the back of his hand, to wake him up and let him know that he was in charge until I returned. He lifted his head, knowing it was me, because Iggy has a gift like that. He is the blind kid, after all. His sightless eyes didn't quite meet mine, and he gave a small nod, sitting up straighter so that he wasn't in Nudge's death grip.

I knew that he understood, so I took a running start and launched myself off the small cliff and unfurling my wings, out in the open air. I sighed and went into hyperdrive, which is what we call it when I go two hundred miles an hour. I didn't worry about getting lost, because of my built in sense of direction, and I was flying over the entire Grand Canyon before very long. My eyes watered a bit, already seeing Dr. Martinez and Ella in my head, already smelling the chocolate chip cookies, already feeling their warm hugs. After the voice had finally been straight-forward enough to tell me that she was my mother, I couldn't wait to see her again.

I had flashbacks all the time of when I first stopped at their house, and I can't believe it was just a chance that we would meet and Dr. Martinez would turn out to be my mom. And she was, like, the coolest mom _ever._ I was more than a little jealous of Ella, knowing that she got to spend all her time with our mom, and she was her own child that she had carried for nine months.

I perched myself on the edge of yet another cliff and watched the sun rise for what may have been a few minutes, or several hours, all the while contemplating this. I decided that Ella deserved to have our mom. She would never have wings. When I flew back to the flock, I saw that they were already cooking whatever canned food we had over a campfire. I swooped in and plopped myself down next to Fang and Angel, and she offered me a few marshmallows. Not bothering to ask where they were from, because I knew they were stolen, I stuck one on the end of a plastic fork and we ate breakfast in the usual way. Oh, yeah. Life. Is. Good. -You can practically _feel_ me rolling my eyes here, I know.-

Everyone ate in peace for a moment, and no one spoke. It wasn't awkward silence, it was just that no one had much to say. Nudge was combing her tangled and dirty hair, in desperate hope of reviving it some, and Angel was cheerful as she ate a hot dog without a bun. Fang was more silent than usual, if that was possible. He'd been so quiet around the rest of the flock since Virginia, it worried me. In a few minutes, however, Gazzy had one of his little "episodes", a special gift of his, and, needless to say, we packed up everything, put out the fire, and were in a hurry to get a little fresh air, ending my pathetic worrying about Fang.

Watching the Grand Canyon shrinking behind me in the distance, I flew with my flock for a while, Nudge chattering endlessly about how we should shoplift from Wal*Mart again, painfully aware that we had zero money, Angel helping Total fly with his little chicken wings, Iggy and Gazzy yelling over the wind to each other about materials to make bombs for "safety" when we all knew they wanted to blow something up more than I wanted a long, hot shower. And if that doesn't say something to you, hell, I don't know what will.

And then Fang, doing that quiet annoying thing of his, where I know he's watching me, was behind me on my right. –Seriously, when I say "right-hand man" I'm not joking.- I don't know what he thinks about, 'cause he's an obvious thinker, when he's not updating the blog or punching an eraser square in the face, just observing everything with those big, dark eyes. Mmm.

_Stop it! Bad Max! There are children here! _

I don't think Angel heard me, she was too busy teaching the _dog_ how to fly.

"He has wings, Max."

I just about froze. Angel's little voice carried across the wind, if that was possible, either that or I'm super uber paranoid. But I wasn't. Because then Angel said "What were you thinking before you called Total a dog?"

But I didn't have to answer. Because Total chose that exact moment to holler loudly "I am _not_ a dog!" and go on with his usual rant. Man, I love Total sometimes. Have I mentioned that? No? Hmm. _Maybe because he's a dog, Angel?_ She then frowned at me as if it were a great insult.

It was times like this that most of us chose to block Total's silly rant out. Since it happened every time we didn't give him a plate, or put him on a leash, or he peed on a fire hydrant. But he never got past those first five words, because there, on the ground in front of a cute little house, were Ella and Dr. Martinez, whom I almost knocked over from flying into them. The rest of the flock was kind of on guard. They had said we needed a home. They had said to forget the mission, and I wouldn't have it. We were going to continue the mission _and_ live here. _That's a great idea,_ I thought, _we can save the world by going to school and wearing fuzzy slippers and eating chocolate chip cookies. _There was a touch of resentment right there. Fang had gone along with this.

My thoughts were cut short as my mom introduced herself and Ella to the rest of the flock, who let their guard down a tad when they saw the homemade –you guessed it- chocolate chip cookies. "Mom" had learned some, she must have made about a hundred. I refrained myself from drooling –after all, all I had for breakfast was a few marshmallows- and put on my "couldn't care less" look.

We were walked all through the house as she took us to Fang, Iggy and Gazzy's room, then Nudge and Angel's room, and being her own daughter, got a room all to my own. Which I was partially happy about. But I wasn't about to give Fang the hint that this was a good idea. What if -you know what, I'm just going to call her mom- Mom got hurt because of us, or the world got destroyed because we couldn't save it? This wasn't wise, and the Voice agreed. But what was I gonna do? Go save the world _without_ them? They were my _family._ Not to mention Fang.

I was brought back to Earth as Angel gave my hand a small squeeze. I froze. _Did Angel know how I thought about Fang?_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Is it okay? I'd really like to continue it so review if you havn't already! Feedback would be greatly appreciated, thanks! And now on to the story,**

Life of a Winged Teenager

Chapter 2

I flopped down on the bed in my room, stared up at the ceiling and tried to contain my frustration. You know how back in Virginia, we had to go to _school?_ Guess what? We're back to that. My mom went on a speech about how it's illegal not to go to school even though we're not normal children, and that it wouldn't be as bad as I was dreading.

She was wrong, I knew she was wrong. This would be a disaster.

And worst of all? Fang had gone along with it. They _all _had gone along with it. They were happy, even. I was the only one who didn't want this. I wanted to get back to the mission, back to the way it used to be, hell, back to the house with Jeb! And I certainly wanted to get as far away from any opportunity for Fang to make out with another Red-Haired Wonder as possible.

I had been reassured that it wouldn't be all bad. There would be no uniforms, there would be good food, heck, there would be freaking Jesus as our literature teacher. But that wasn't good enough. I didn't buy it.

I was interrupted from my thoughts as I heard a soft knock at the door. Knowing that no one else knocked that softly, I opened the door. "Oh, hey, Ig."

"Max, are you okay? You seem…defeated."

I sighed. "I don't want to revisit what it was like in Virginia, Ig. You know that Virginia royally sucked for everyone." _Except Fang,_ I thought agrily to myself.

He looked me right in the eyes. It still freaks me out how he's able to do that. But it's like he's looking right through me, not right at me. "Just…see how it goes, okay? It could be better than you think."

"Oh, Iggy, not you too!"

"I'm serious, Max. Just think about it."

He walked out the door and left me right where I started, staring up at the empty ceiling, as pissed off as ever at Fang.

The next morning, I groaned to myself as I realized that it wasn't just a dream. It was the real thing, so I willed myself to get up. After taking a shower and getting dressed, I walked downstairs, determined to keep the Fang-face of indifference. As I walked into the small kitchen, I noticed that Angel and Nudge were positively _thrilled_ at the idea of school as Nudge applied nail polish and Angel put a bow in her curled blonde hair. It made me want to throw up, seriously. I grabbed a bowl of Fruit Loops and sat myself down at the table with a scowl.

Iggy sat down beside me at the table and stole my bowl of Fruit Loops, which I was planning on ignoring anyway. He smiled at me and I made an attempt to smile back, but it's not like it would matter, 'cause, come on, he's blind.

My jaw literally dropped when Fang came downstairs in black jeans, a black t-shirt and a black leather jacket. Typical Fang stuff, if you think about it, but wow.

_Again, bad Max! Angel's sitting right there! _

I sighed with sweet relief when I saw that Angel was too busy adding sparkly nail polish to her nails to hear or care about what I thought. This surprised me, because Angel's always very focused on everyone's thoughts. Nudge was corrupting her. Stupid evil Nudge. I sighed. No, I didn't mean that. But I didn't think this was good for them.

We all grabbed the new backpacks my mom had bought us as we headed outside and waited until the big yellow school bus pulled around the corner. One by one, we all climbed on. I was expecting us to all sit together, But Angel got pulled away by some younger girls, Nudge went over with some preteens, Iggy and Gazzy sat together with some older guys and I sat across from them. I was about to motion for Fang to sit down next to me, thinking that would be perfect, but then I saw him get into a seat with another girl, and my stomach churned as I saw her _long dark red hair. _Her friends gathered around him, making giant cow eyes at him and touching his hair, shirt, shoulders, you'd expect him to be a celebrity.

When the bus lurched to a stop, I stormed off the bus past Fang and his new girlfriends. But why would he care? He didn't see me in that crowd of girls, and everyone got off the bus with their new friends, everyone except me. I raced inside, towards the girl's bathroom, and stared in the mirror until I calmed down. I was practically hyperventilating at first and then it slowed so that I could at least go to class. I looked on my schedule and saw that I had some kind of math first. I tried not to storm into the classroom.

I walked straight in with determination and noticed that Fang was sitting on a desk surrounded by the girls. I almost rolled my eyes at whoever controls these hideous events which keep happening to me. Of all the classes to be in, why mine? Why wasn't Iggy here or something?

I took a look at the seating chart and then back at the classroom. My desk was where Fang and his number one fan were seated at. The rest of the girls had left, leaving only Fang and the girl with the long dark red hair. She flipped her hair over her shoulder while talking to him, staring at him as if he were the god of _my freaking desk._ I took a deep breath and walked over there, putting a bright, perky smile on my face.

"Hi! Um, Fang, sweetie, you're kind of sitting on my desk."

Fang just sort of rolled his eyes at me, not even mildly surprised at my Maxtastic sarcasm, walking over to the seating chart with the Red-Haired Wonder #2. Ironically, they both left for their desks, and while his was across the classroom, the Red-Haired Wonder #2 was seated right next to me.

"So I guess you know Fang, then?" the Red-Haired Wonder #2 asked with a bright smile.

I bit the inside of my cheek. "He's, my, um, brother, I guess. Adopted."

"Oooooh!" she squealed. -Wait, squealed?- "Do you think he'd go out with me? He's_ soooo _cute."

"Why don't you just ask him," I murmured, but she didn't hear me. She had turned to her friend and started gossiping about Fang.

Now, before I go all sappy pour-my-heart-out on you, keep in mind that this isn't like those 13 year olds feeling like their heart is going to rip right in half. Because this was _Fang,_ the boy that I had grown up with and loved with all my heart since I was ten.

-See, I told you it was coming- But even though I wanted to throw up, run, slap that girl, I could deal. Because I wasn't Bella from Twilight. Fang wasn't my whole world, even though I loved him a lot. I wasn't near that dependent on anyone. So I had composure and sat there as though it didn't bother me, as though he really _was_ my brother.

I didn't even listen as the bell rang. I didn't hear the teacher speak, and I didn't look up when homework was assigned. As the students left the class, I filed out with them, head down, and the last thought I had was that Iggy was wrong. It was just as horrible as I thought it was going to be, but I could block it out until we got home and I could fly.

As the lunch bell rang, I headed straight for the cafeteria, got a tray, and plopped down next to Iggy, sliding my tray over to him.

"Not hungry?" he asked with his mouth full.

"Freaking _chew _and swallow, Ig."

He rolled his eyes at me. "So how's the day been?"

I refrained from putting my head in my hands. "How do you think?"

Fang chose that moment to sit down next to us, the Red-Haired Wonder #2 at his side and hanging on his arm and his every word. "Hey, guys. Max, you've already met Amber," he said, gesturing to the Red-Haired Wonder #2. Iggy stuck out his hand in Amber's general direction, which she took and smiled, a smile wasted on his blindness.

Honestly, how could Fang be so thick? I mean, if I _were_ his sister it'd be totally different. I'd be happy for him and Amber and I would become best friends. –Yeah, I'm sure you can see _that_ happening.- But I'm not so it wasn't. How could he think that I would care? I prefer my relationships to be in the flock, with rare exceptions. Regular humans just don't understand us. Which is why I'm always so shocked when Fang does this. How could he settle for someone without wings?

_Back to Earth, Max,_ said my Voice.

I snapped back to the present and plastered a smile onto my face. "Oh, hi, Amber." Now, I know what you're thinking. How can you be so nice to her, Max? How can you not rip her head off and scream _Fang is mine!!!!!!_? I'll tell you why. I am a world-class, mother-freaking saint. No, I _would_ confront Fang later about this. But it's not like I could start a fight right here in the middle of the school cafeteria on the first day. –How's that for a first impression, huh?- So I smiled warmly and continued to talk with her, even though the whole situation was screaming, _Rip her hairy guts out!_

Surprisingly, I made it through the whole day. Now, let me say this for all you normal children: school royally sucks, if I have not made that clear. You can't fly, or watch TV, all you do is pointless schoolwork. Jeezum, there should be a law against it. Okay, not really, give your abused parents a break and go to school. But back to the point.

I crashed on my bed and groaned into a pillow. Thank God he hadn't brought the idiot home from school, I would have kicked him so hard. I was brought back to life when I heard a knock at my door. It wasn't silent like Iggy, and Nudge, Angel and Gazzy didn't knock, so it had to be Fang or my mom. With my life, it had to be…

Fang opened the door. "What was with you at school today? You can't fool me, Max, I know you. You were incredibly silent and out of it today and you looked so sick when you got off the bus." _Oh, so he _did _notice._

"It was nothing, Fang. You know how I felt about school and this is _your _fault for dragging me to a real home." _And breaking my freaking heart, _I silently added. "I was just a little sick today. Nervous. A stomach bug. Anxiety, if you will. It all clear now? Are we done here? Will you quit being paranoid?" Geez, I was throwing questions at him left and right. "Just get out." And with that, I shoved him out the door and spoke to no one the rest of the night.

**Review please, chapter 1 and 2!! =]**

**~Rachel**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Thank you to any who review, the story continues! I noticed the other chapters were a bit shorter so I plan on gradually making them longer. =]**

**Life of a Winged Teenager**

**Chapter 3**

I woke up the next morning and the events of the day before hit me like a train. I tried to ignore the dull ache in my heart, and I felt sick. I almost wanted to stay home, but I was afraid of what Fang and Amber would do if I left them alone. –Get your mind out of the gutter, I just meant she might ask him out or kiss him.- So I forced myself out of bed and into the shower, and when I walked downstairs for breakfast, I ate all of my fruit loops and didn't bother making unreturned cow eyes at Fang. Aren't you proud of me?

Rolling my eyes as I braced myself for what was to come, I boarded the bus followed by the flock. As was expected, Amber practically tackled fang into a hug, and he shot me a… a rather smug look?! My blood boiled.

Surprisingly, I was welcomed by Amber's friends a few rows back, who made nice comments about my hair, clothes, and shoes, thinking I was no threat to Amber. I was, after all, "Fang's sister". I'm ashamed to say that by the time we got to school, I actually liked one or two of them. They were okay without the Red-Haired Wonder #2.

I had those girls in a few of my classes, which offered a nice distraction from Amber and Fang most of the time. In some classes, I was forced to sit without them, left for my mind to wander. In other words, _FangFangFangFangFangFang._

I was walking to my desk when I heard Amber's voice. It was impossible to miss, it was high and shrill and downright annoying. And it just so happened to be asking Fang if he was free Friday night.

_Oh, God. _

Geez, Max, don't sound desperate, don't sound scared, don't sound like you're gonna hurl! Pull yourself together! I thought you _weren't_ Bella from Twilight, remember? And how, you ask, as a mutant birdkid, do I ever find time to read Twilight? Yeah, that's really all it takes for me to get lost in my nonsense thoughts. This is why I have a voice, you see. In case you didn't know.

Before my face could even twist into a grimace, I had raced out the door. The teacher could have chased after me with a freaking club, and I wouldn't have stopped until I was away. Whoah, I just pictured a teacher hurling herself at me with an actual club. _Arghh, focus, Max! _

But that didn't happen, so apparently I was safe for now. I hurled myself out the front door of the school, took a deep breath and launched myself into the sky. _Way to look stupid, Max. I thought you weren't so stupid? Trying to prove all those blonde jokes wrong?_ That's what you _should_ be thinking right about now. That's what I was thinking right then. But I launched myself into the sky and paid no attention to the fact that Fang would know now. He would know everything. I just raced back to the house, back to a tree in Mom's backyard. Just to sit with my head in my hands. Jeezum.

Alright, Max. Figure out what you think about this. He's not getting married to the girl, and he's only a freshman. He'll get rid of her eventually. Because it's like I have said before, it's just me and my flock. And no one understands us like us. I know about his wings, and everything else. He's my best friend.

"Max?"

Oh snap. It was Total. Let me explain what he saw. Me, in a tree, head in my hands, in a fetal position, rocking back and forth like I desperately needed to see a shrink. Which, let's face it, wouldn't be a bad idea.

"Total?"

"Well, yeah. What did you think I did all day? And why are you...er…upset?"

Hmm. He got me there. I just thought he flew or explored or ate gourmet frozen dinners or watched TV. You know. Total stuff. But when I saw the dirt on his paws, the rubber ball a few feet away, oh man. I totally had him.

"Er, Total? Is…is that a rubber ball?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

I snickered. This was too much fun.

"And, um…is that dirt on your paws, a bone in your mouth, and a hole over there?"

His face drained of color, if that was possible. Keep in mind that this was the dog that drank Fanta out of a glass, always had a plate, read magazines, could talk, and watched Broadway musicals. So I had to laugh.

"That's not fair! Your mom gave them to me and told me to go play! You…you…you can't tell anyone! Least of all not Iggy and Gazzy! They'll never let me hear the end of it! I'll be forced to become a real dog!" He then proceeded to do a very stunning Romeo impression and fall over.

I was a little shocked at this outburst. I mean, I always knew Total was really melodramatic, not to mention his usual rant.

"Too late, Total. Your days of reading People magazine and sitting at the table are over."

A sly smile spread across his face, and it was positively creepy enough to make Satan run home and jump in his mommy's lap, sucking his thumb.

"Oh, I wouldn't do that…not unless you want Fang to know your dirty little secret."

I was just about to fall off the tree when I remembered something. I had run away. He would surely know now.

"Fang? Secret? Please," I said, but it wasn't nearly as sincere and condescending as it had sounded in my head, and it came out weak and pleading.

"Cut the act, Max. I know, at least. Gazzy and Nudge are clueless enough not to know, Iggy is blind, and Fang is too stupid. Let's face it."

I had to hand it to him. He knew things. Fear not, Fang fangirls, I'm sure his being stupid only makes him more attractive.

"S-so then, Angel..?"

"What did you _think,_ Max? She _is_ a mind reader."

I sighed. This was kind of pointless. It was just what I had been dreading. But it wasn't as bad as I thought. And it WAS the morning, and I had taken all of my school stuff with me. What would be the point of going back?

But Max, Max! What about your studies? Your missed homework? Your essays to turn in! …Wait…could it be that there's a bigger picture in your life? Like, say, saving the world? Oh, then, by all means, go save us, Max!

Why, thank you, other invisible voice. Ah, wouldn't it be nice if my little supportive voice existed instead of the _actual_ one that resides within my cranium? Life is nice that way. Right.

I knew that Fang was trying to help with his blogging to stop Itex, and I knew what we had done after we "escaped" from Anne's with the Max II showdown. And I definetly thought it was weird that the Erasers hadn't tracked us this far, and that it was only a matter of time before they came searching for us. But I really didn't know what to do. Jeb and the Voice hadn't been around lately to give me any help or clues, and Dr. Martinez was just trying to be my mom to make this easier for me. So to be most honest, I had no plan.

Whaaaaat? The great Maximum Ride has no plan?

Yes, yes, there's a new one. I appreciate your disbelief, though. There's a self-esteem booster.

Total walked into the house and I followed, sighing with relief as I saw that Ella was in school and Mom was at work. When the others got home, I would fake sick. Which I've never had the luxury of doing before, since we certainly don't get colds, and haven't been in school much.

I sighed in spite of myself. There had been no violence or destruction, no new powers to deal with, but I would take all of that over the way things were now.

Now, for those of you with an incredibly slow memory –and trust me, I _know_ you're there- reread the last paragraph _again. _And _again. _However many times you can read it for you to totally memorize it and it will all sink in. Now, you got it? Okay. Keep reading. It gets better.

Because at that exact moment, Angel chose to burst in the doors followed by Iggy, Gazzy, Fang and Nudge. And she chose that exact moment to yell to the whole world, "I HAVE A NEW POWER EVERYONE!"

You would have loved that. I mean, think about it, you'd expect it to be something adorable, like, spontaneously create puppies or puke up rainbows. But the second her eyes started to glow orange and the nearby lamb burst on fire in a flash of flame, I knew it wasn't anything of the sort.

And there wasn't a minute to think _Oh, hell, no,_ before her eyes glowed orange _again._ I promptly lunged off my chair and tackled her to the floor, leaning over her, my hair singed from being so close to her. The smoke alarms were going off, and the lamp was _still on fire._ Fang was laughing in the midst of this. _Laughing._ Back hunched, hands on his knees, shaking from laughing so hard. So picture a dark bird kid laughing maniacally, me pinned on top of Angel, smoke alarms going off, a lamp burning to a crisp, and no horror music or anything.

At some point Gazzy went wild with a fire extinguisher. White fluff was all over, the charred lamp crashed to the floor. It was all over my hair, and all over Angel, but her eyes were still glowing. I waited for it to cool down, up until she started twitching. Like, _twitching, _twitching.

"Angel?!"

Her eyes proceeded to grow yellow, then white-hot. Oh, geez. I am definetly not ever gonna be able to fix my hair after this mess.

"_Angel!!!!_"

And then she just…stopped. She was breathing heavily, and I was nearly crushing her.

"Max…" came her tiny little voice.

"Angel, sweetie," I said, then held her in my arms while I almost burst into tears.

You know, maybe I _am_ from Twilight. Only not Bella. More…Jacob. After she chose Edward, you can bet that he ran home and cried like the puppy he is.

Under any other circumstances, her power would have been awesome. Zapping Erasers, roasting Flyboys, nothing could stop her. But she couldn't control it. Whenever it happened, she would become possessed, just like she just was, unable to stop from burning everything. I brought her back. Because I loved her. But I couldn't be there to fix it all the time.

"I'll learn!" she cried, reading my thoughts. "I _can_ control it! I will!"

I offered a small smile. "Ange, you're still just a kid. I'm not sure any of us could control it."

I winced as soon as it was out. I knew she would retort back with something.

And it came. "Max, I have more powers. I'm stronger. I'll practice."

I gave in. I didn't want to argue right now, especially when I was still looking at Fang, wondering if he noticed anything about how I was acting. I knew the answer was yes, I saw it from the question in his eyes. But this Angel discussion was not over.

Obviously, the rest of them weren't as impressed with this whole thing. Nudge went to her room, and Iggy and Gazzy retreated to the dining room table and their pile of bomb materials. Fang grabbed his laptop and sat on the sofa, checking his blog, no doubt. I don't know. Maybe I _am _more emotionally unstable. I was supposed to be the fearless leader, but I couldn't handle my 6 year old girl bursting into flames.

Angel got up and dusted herself off, and headed out of the room to who knows where. I wonder how it had gone without me at school. I wondered how many girls had asked to be Fang's girlfriend on his blog. I wondered what he had said to Amber.

Fang could tell when you were staring at him. I could tell he could tell. At first his eyebrows started twitching, then he got this sort of grimace on this face, and within five minutes he cracked.

"Max, I don't know what's going on with you. H-have you lost it or something? I can't help if you don't tell me what's wrong!"

One side of my mouth quirked as I watched him take the laptop out of the room. I stared after him. How could I ever tell him anything? He was so dark, dignified, tall, _hot,_

_Ugh, Max, get your mind out of the gutter. _

I rolled my eyes as Angel's thoughts came to me from her room.

_Oh, well. I have to put up with the same from Fang. _

I could tell it was unintentional from the tension that followed.

_Hehe…oops. _

So what? What did I care about Fang? Probably having sick thoughts about Amber. Boy should get a room.

_He does have a date with Amber this Friday, if it helps._

I don't care what she said, that most definetly did not help. Oh, well. I had expected this. I couldn't let tears well up in my eyes now. Remember what I said about Bella? It appears we're back to that.

_But Fang loves you, Max._

Wait, what?

**Good, bad? Review, review, review! **

**~Rachel**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Thanks to my reviewers! You guys are keeping me motivated, love ya! **

**maispecialk - Thanks for the feedback, my first reviewer!**

**Sophie - Thanks for the great reviews and the criticism, I needed a little of that! I don't really like Twilight, I'm making a point of bashing it, lol. **

**Thanks to you guys who tell me to keep writing, it means a lot. And now, on to the part you care about, **

**Life of a Winged Teenager**

**Chapter 4**

I had to calm down a bit. Angel had always said this. Part of me hoped it was true, or rather, all of me, but I also had my doubts. Angel _would_ probably think it was romantic if Fang and I were together, leading the flock together, being their Mom and Dad, but geez. It was quite unrealistic.

As it was, I had a lot to think about. Fang and Amber, Angel's mysterious new power, how to save the world, Total and Angel knew my "secret, the list goes on. I didn't want to add Fang and me to Max's List Royal Pains in the Neck.

* * *

Three days later, on Friday, I didn't wake up with a sinking feeling like, _oh, today's the day Fang's going on a date with queen of the Lissa's of the world. _No, he wasn't going out with her for 11 hours. I had nothing to worry about…yet.

I let Nudge do my makeup. Yes, she's 11, but she's already worn more makeup than I ever have. Yes, I'm 14, in high school. But all the while we're on the run, always getting our butts kicked by Erasers, and we don't usually have _deodorant or toothpaste,_ let alone cosmetics. Not to mention the struggle to wear a bra, because of our wings. So don't push it, don't expect me to be like that. Because some of us have bigger priorities, like _staying alive._

Now, thanks to Fang, all of that ended. So I had enough time to do all of that crap. I looked…kind of pretty, actually. Rock on, 11 year old.

Downstairs, I bit my lip and resisted the urge to ask questions. Like where Fang was taking Amber, how long they would be out. Geez, I had become his major stalker. It was all I could do to not tilt my head back and give a mwa-ha-ha! Sadly, this is what it has come to.

Fang just kind of rolled his eyes at me as I came downstairs. I don't know if it was because I looked pretty or because I was looking kind of pissed off or what.

Turns out that laying awake most of the night gives you wonderful opportunities to think! Fang or _the world. _Fang or _THE WORLD._ So, if it was you, you would have done the same thing. You would have picked the world. The mission. So I had planned to wait it out for a couple weeks, before we left for good. Never to be in school again. The truth was, I loved those little pudding cups they served at school and pencils in cute little pencil holders and prim and proper textbooks. It was kind of cute, like a Barbie school.

But I didn't treat it like it was real. It wasn't, not really. Nothing permanent.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when the rest of the flock came downstairs.

"I am a freaking ARTEEST," gushed Nudge. "Max, you look so perfect."

"I can't believe you were able to talk her into this, Nudge," said Angel.

Iggy touched my shirt lightly. "Hey, Max is all pink!!"

At that everyone burst out laughing. I gave a nervous chuckle. _I don't wear pink, Ig, stop making comments about it! _Another of many death glares that had been wasted on Iggy. I hate that.

Doctor Martinez walked down the stairs and hugged me. "Get going, sweetie, you guys have to catch the bus."

Once on the bus, I was surprised and genuinely happy that we all decided to sit together. Clinging to Fang's arm, Amber beamed up at him, but for the dark one, I'm sure he was looking for the off switch. He waved her off and took a seat next to Iggy when Angel started laughing.

Fang looked highly uncomfortable and glared down at Angel. _Fang's being a perv having perv thoughts,_ she thought as she switched to telepathy mode. I flashed them a quick smile and we were there.

I walked Fang right past Amber and down the bus steps, to our first class. And why bother learning if you're just gonna carve pictures of Erasers fighting birdkids into the desk? That's what I thought.

I doodled Max II at the Itex headquarters. I drew the E-shaped house, and Doctor Martinez and Ella smiling at me. I drew the school. I drew the U-do place in New York. Damn, we've been lots of places. I smiled to myself.

During free period, I checked out a copy of Twilight. In the last few days, Twilight references had been running through my mind. I admit, I've had some Bella-ish moments in the last few days. Let me tell you that _reading_ the book refreshed my memory as to why no one should _ever_ be a Bella.

I brought a book cover with me. Because as much as I wanted to read Twilight, there are some things that Fang and Nudge just weren't meant to see. On my way to my locker, I was slammed against it by Amber.

"What are you doing, freak?" she positively snarled.

"A-Amber?" Man, was I shocked. She was too delicate to snarl.

"What's up with you and my boyfriend? You're brother and sister! That's not _legal. _And that's not gonna fly with me. He's in love with me, and I see the way you look at him. So let me be clear. Fang. Is. Mine."

I backed up. "You're off your nut! You've known him for two days and now he's in love with you?"

"I _know_ he's in love with me, freak. Or he _will _be."

She left in a huff. Was it always like this? These _fights_ over guys that you girls have? Stop being so desperate! I know this is coming from me, but pick yourself up. Yeah, you in the back.

After lunch, I joined my classmates outside on the central plaza in front of the school. The wind blew my hair around my face, refreshing and almost like being in the air. I use the word _almost_ loosely. _Very_ loosely.

And that's when I noticed the fuzzy black splotches on the clear blue sky, gaining speed, coming closer. I grinned. It was about time.

Don't get me wrong, I was hoping that it would never come to this, but it had been several weeks since I had fought anything. All at once, 6 heads turned towards the sky, followed by hundreds more. And at the head of the Erasers speeding towards us was…Total?

_Whoah. _

"What _is _that?"

"Call 911!!!"

"Holy…they have _fur!_"

I smiled. "Move, move, move! Ange, Nudge, Iggy, Fang, Gazzer, go, go, go!"

And man, we collided with the Erasers as soon as we unfurled our wings and hit the sky. Punching out Erasers, that's always cool. When a 6 year old shoots _fire_ at a huge Eraser with wings, well, that's even cooler. Between that and her mind-reading skills, she was killing 'em.

That was all well and good for the first fifteen seconds. When an Eraser punches you in the side of your face, making metallic tasting blood squirt into your mouth, your head fly back, making a person like _you_ plummet to the ground, it wakes you up. I was blasted from my paradise, and rage filled me now. But my heart still swelled with pride as I saw the Gasman hit an Eraser with a roundhouse kick in the chest.

We were at various altitudes, clapping our hands over their ears, kicking, punching, pulling hair, hitting them at their pressure points, making them fall, screaming, into the crowd below. We saw people pulling out their cell phones, calling, taking pictures, texting, emailing videos. Cameras clicked, and people were holding SAVE THE FLOCK and FANG'S BLOG banners made from poster boards and sharpies at the last minute.

Iggy aiming with precision every time, but the shots were meant to damage, not to kill. Nudge kicking one square in the face, breaking its nose, sending it spiraling towards the ground. But we _were_ killing them, causing them to fall from a hundred feet in the air.

After that, they just stopped coming. Like they ran out or something, which hadn't happened before. As Fang sent the last one crashing into the crowd, he pulled his head back and looked at me, graceful as an angel of death, even as his forehead and nose were bleeding.

We nodded at each other. There was no way we could stay here now. The other sighed. They knew what this meant, that we had to leave before the reporters showed up. I blasted ahead of the others, far ahead, and got to Mom's house. Packing everything we had, everyone's packs with two sets of clean clothes, non-perishables, and since I was getting used to being clean, basic stuff such as toothpaste and shampoo. Not sure when we would ever get a shower, I packed my own money for hotels.

As the flock arrived, I threw them their packs.

We marched outside. "Up and away," I instructed. Total followed behind me, eager to get into the sky. He climbed into Iggy's arms, his small wings still not fully grown in. We opened our wings and soared up into the air.

"What's the plan, Max?" asked Gazzy, always right on track.

"We need Fang to get on the laptop and track other Itex headquarters. I know we motivated lots of kids to destroy other branches of Itex. But we need to keep going. We can't let them take over the world."

Fang was already on it, already on the laptop –yeah, up in the air- trying to Google everything Itex related, and track the next largest branch. He looked up from the laptop 4 or 5 minutes later. "Canada," he said, his face unreadable.

"It'll take longer to take there than it was to New York," I said, already calculating the distance in my brain. "We'll have to stop once, maybe twice."

I could see Nudge's face as it fell. She knew we would be camping in woods, most likely. I didn't like it any more than she did, we all preferred real beds as opposed to the cold, hard forest floor. But we didn't have much money to burn on 3 or 4 hotel visits as a round trip.

We had been flying for a while when I heard Gazzy and Iggy in their little one-way game of I Spy, Total chiming in occasionally, and I was still trying to work out a plan. We weren't just going to walk into Itex and demand their surrender, only to annihilate them. I didn't usually blank like this.

I saw Angel giggle as Iggy replied for the 5th time, "But I'm _blind_," and Fang rolled his eyes and hollered back, "I'm rolling my eyes, Ig," and I laughed with Angel as I realized we were back to the old flock. The bad-hygiene, fist-stacking, wisecracking flock that you all know and love. I know, I know. I'm tearing up, too.

But it was times like these when I wondered if Iggy would actually be blind much longer. As I said, all sorts of genetic mutations were happening. He could already feel colors, and I know it wasn't enough for him, but it had only been a few months since we were still in Colorado and already we were changing. I wasn't so sure he wouldn't get his eyesight back.

* * *

I walked out of a long, hot shower with a towel and fresh clothes for everyone. I could see Fang roll his eyes as if to say, "You clearly enjoyed that in there."

Angel pushed Gazzy into the bathroom as he pleaded with Angel, "But Max has no soul! She just used up all the hot water and she's smiling at us! Nooooo !" He cried like a maniac as Angel shoved him through the bathroom door with a final, "GO!"

I laid on the bed in my clean clothes, cranking up the volume on the iPod nano my mother had given me. I kind of felt bad. She had no idea where we were right now, we hadn't even bothered to leave a note. I glanced up as a squeaky voice cut through my music, and I saw a lumpy yellow square in a suit talking to a pink star in swim trunks on our television.

What. The. Freak.

I rolled my eyes as Gazzy, Angel, Iggy and Nudge decided to go down to the pool. "But you just took a shower!" I hollered after them, but they were already gone.

"Hotel water's free, Max!" called Gazzy.

I sighed. This left just me and Fang. And if Fang talks, it's usually good. If Fang doesn't talk, it's a helluva boring and particularly nerve-wracking time. I flipped through channels at light speed about 20 times before Fang cracked. It's so funny when that happens.

"Max, just pick something already!"

"Ugh, when did you become so cranky?"

"When you wouldn't pick the damn channel!"

And there it was. We were fighting like little kids and this was so much easier than all I'd been dealing with the past couple of days. I started laughing uncontrollably.

"What's so damn funny?"

I leaned against him and just laughed, because I really needed to laugh. I laughed like a maniac and Fang just patted my hair until I stopped and just smiled at him. It was kind of nice until Nudge, Iggy, Gazzy and Angel walked in and Nudge shouted, "O-M-G Max is leaning on Fang!"

I rolled my eyes and Iggy cracked up. "Sorry, sorry, we'll just leave you guys alone, now!"

I glared. Stupid Total. I thought you said Iggy was too blind to notice me and Fang. Literally. Apparently not, because then Iggy started chuckling and muttering something about "2nd base" and Gazzy had to ask him what that was. Before he could answer, I pushed Iggy out of the room and locked the door.

He pounded on the door for a few minutes, then it got weaker, and weaker. In an hour I let him crawl back in, and was gracious enough to let him sleep on the floor with Fang. Normally, I'd be opposed to the whole "girls sleep on the bed because the guys are sexist pigs" thing. But now, all I wanted was to sleep on a mattress, and 6 kids and a dog in 2 beds was not gonna fly. I was lying awake in bed for a while, thinking the day over, how we were miles and miles from my mom and that school now, how pleased I was that Fang never went on his date with Amber, and how it felt so good to lean against him and smile.

I'd have to talk to Iggy later about how pissed off he made me. I don't take it easy on the blind guy. I'll kick his scrawny ass if he ever does that to me again.

It was two in the morning, and Nudge kept kicking me in my sleep. I almost slapped her last time, it was getting so bad. Watching the clock, I was almost ready to fall asleep as there was a loud crash, and a whole wall crashed over, almost falling on the bed and hitting us. A huge, monstrous hulk of flesh and muscle _stepped_ into the room, and I had a feeling he wasn't there for a tea party.

**What did you think? Too little? Too much? This one is a little shorter than the other, sorry! Was written quickly, review please. ^^**

**~Rachel**


	5. Chapter 5

**HeartofFeathers547 - Thanks for reviewing! ^^ Read on and find out what the "gigantic monstrous hulk" thing is, lol.**

**Break In Silence - Aw. My story totally touches hearts. I feel loved. =] **

**Okay, so here's the new chapter, just for you guys, read on, read on! **

**Life of a Winged Teenager **

**Chapter 5**

I bolted upright, staring at the thing that crashed through the wall. This thing was terrifying and blood-chilling. A lump of muscle-y flesh, it had veins all over it, and two slits that might have been eyes, a line that might have been a mouth. It had a human form, arms, two legs, a head. And it looked like it might take three or four of us to take it down. It most definetly not alone, however, it was flanked by whitecoats on each side.

Fang's eyes opened and widened, the Fang version of running away screaming. Our hearts were both racing, already imagining how long it would take to grab the younger kids and leap out the window. As if by reading our minds, cold, hard iron bars closed over the window. How long had they been planning this? Was this because of the chip in my arm? There would be no escape now.

The thing –I call him the Incredible Hulk Numero Dos- moved closer as I shook Nudge awake, cold determination in my eyes as I stared him down in my Max way. She shrank closer to the headboard, wanting to get as far away from him as possible. Fang and Iggy were across the room on the floor, eyes widened in disbelief.

A whitecoat stepped forward. She was small, frail, her hair tied up in a bun, glasses hanging off her nose, yet she couldn't have been twenty-five. Still, there was an emptiness about her eyes. And yet she still had the strength and the coldness of heart to say, perfectly calm, "Get them."

Two Erasers stepped into the room. "Max," said one in a most ominous voice, "we meet again."

I had to crack up. It was so perfectly cliché, so awesomely every action movie ever made, that it had an odd effect. Ari was back.

He made to lunge at me. I braced myself, prepared to land a roundhouse kick square in his house, sending him flying into that experiment gone wrong, when he broke off, changed directions and flew right at Fang and Iggy. In a minute he had kicked Iggy out and was holding Fang up by his neck, pinned against the wall. In a voice ever so creepy, I heard him whisper, "Time to die, freaks."

I had a split second to worry about Fang when I was being lifted off the bed, my ears bleeding next to a shrieking Nudge, looking straight into the eyes of Darth Vader's biggest fan. My waist in his huge mutated hand, I kicked him square in the face, with enough strength to crack a human's skull. Sadly, this was not enough for Invinci-guy, and I was squeezed as a toddler might squeeze a fistful of play-doh. My eyes watered, this guy knew he had enough strength to crush me. I looked around and saw Nudge and Gazzy furiously fighting off the 2nd Eraser while Angel was trying to get inside the Chuck Norris wannabe's head and Total was snapping at Eraser #2's ankles.

I saw Fang kicking furiously at Ari, gasping for air as his neck was squeezed tighter still, Iggy out cold on the floor. The thought passed through my brain that this might be the last time I would ever see them, and I was shocked. We were fighting with everything we had, but it wasn't working.

I screamed when it felt like I was about to be smashed in half. Everyone heard it, and Fang's face was filled with rage, just long enough for him to punch Ari out, send him spiraling across the room, through the window and straight into the iron bars, falling back and onto the floor of the hotel room, head bleeding all the way. What can I say? Fang has that effect on people.

He then proceeded to hurl himself straight at the soon-to-be lifeless carcass that was squeezing the life out of me. The hand let go of me, or rather, hurled me over its shoulder, and I was gasping on the ground as the air came rushing back into my lungs. My legs shot out and kicked the back of his knees, causing him to stumble, which was all Fang needed to punch him into the window with the iron bars that almost killed Ari. He fell back and landed _on_ Ari, and I mentally winced as I heard a crack. That thing _had_ to weigh a lot.

I looked up just in time to see Nudge literally _fling_ the other Eraser against the wall with a loud _THUMP!_ and scream, "GET THE FUG OFF ME!"

Oh, poor, poor Nudge. Apparently she just got straddled by a slightly confused Eraser. …Er…that was what it sounded like anyway. Fang was chuckling slightly, so I knew I wasn't the only one who needed to get my mind out of the gutter.

Sorry you'll never be able to un-imagine that. Ah, well.

"Grab your stuff, we're leaving."

We all grabbed our packs and gingerly stepped around the huge lump of flesh and Ari, kicked the iron bars down, and jumped out the window into the sky.

Nudge yawned. "Max, we need to sleep."

I nodded, and we were freefalling into the trees. I lightly glided down until I was able to land on a large enough branch. Tired, hungry and bruised, I grumpily got my back used to the hard tree trunk, as opposed to the soft, feathery hotel mattress. I slowly sank into unconsciousness. My last thought was that, in the struggle, I had forgotten to return my copy of Twilight to the school library.

_Well, shit._

* * *

Naturally, I was thoroughly pissed when I remembered where I was, in the forest, with no shower, no water to brush my teeth in, nowhere to change out of my bloodstained and torn clothes. I groaned to myself and started brushing my tangled hair out of my eyes.

I kicked Iggy in the shin when he made some comment on Nudge being a "positive influence" on me when he realized that I was, in fact, brushing my hair. Of course, he fell out of the tree, which was treat, because he had no idea where he was, wandering around aimlessly for about 10 minutes, all of us laughing silently and unwilling to make a sound.

We were up in the sky again in a few minutes. Knowing where we were going because of our awesome built in sense of direction, we were headed right for Canada. And we were talking, like, Nunavut, Canada, way up north, not like, _Canada,_ Canada, with all the grass and pretty trees and big cities. Fate's a bitch.

And unless no one told you, flying over the Midwest is so damn boring because all you have is grass, grass, the occasional tree, and more grass. Sufficed to say, no one was playing I Spy that day, much to Fang's relief, I might add. Instead, we spent the day listening to Total lecture us about various musicals and teaching Angel to sing them _all._

To all you musical fanatics who know what he would be talking about, I have one thing to say to you.

Wow. Just wow.

A while later, we stopped at a fast food restaurant somewhere in Nebraska. And that was really good for us, good flying, guys! You can all be proud of yourselves. You see, it was Fang's brilliant idea to stop at the fast food place. It went something like this.

We stopped right outside a McDonald's. "We should go in there and get some food," suggested Fang.

"Good job, Sherlock, pats for Fang!" I said, using my sweetest voice and receiving a cold roll of the eyes. Don't you remember when Fang used to at least quirk a smile at stuff I said? Good times, good times.

I walked inside and ordered nearly everything on the menu. We don't get weird looks in fast food restaurants –and honestly, why would they even care, they have their own lives-, not like at sit-down restaurants. We will _not_ revisit the schmancy restaurant in New York again, thank you very much.

"How far from Canada are we, Max?" came the Gasman's small voice.

"Gasser, we're in Nebraska. It'll be a while yet. We still have to get to the Canadian border, and hope we don't get 'pulled over' and get deported for entering illegally."

We all laughed at this. If you don't get it, you're stupid. Simple as that.

Each of us received our half dozen value meals and headed towards the back. Nearly half the money we had brought was gone, and it was partially for the younger kids' benefit that I did this. Soon we would be back to eating over a campfire in the caves, just like a few days ago.

I knew the rest of them were thinking the same thing, Gazzy eating slowly, Iggy looking thoughtfully in his cheeseburger's general direction, Nudge remaining silent for the first time in days.

Iggy broke the silence. "You know that thing's not dead. They wanted it to capture us, Max. It's not just gonna die and leave us alone. They have plans."

I realized he was right. "Iggy, we have to worry about the mission now. Let's just let it find us, then we can find out what it's really up to."

Despite my many nicknames for that guy, don't think I don't like him. I absolutely love psychotic freaks breaking into my hotel room and squeezing me to freaking death. So I still need to decide what to name him in my head. _Think, Max, think!_

But we had more pressing matters. Whether it be _FangFangFangFangFangFang_ or Darth Deep Voice, or what to do should this Amber thing come back to bite me in the butt.

I was almost certain that the last one would never happen. I mean, it's not like Lissa or Sam walked back into our lives –I hope I didn't just jinx that- after we left Virginia, which I was extremely thankful for.

I walked up and dumped my tray in the garbage. "Let's get moving, guys."

An hour later, we had crossed the South Dakota-Nebraska border. To be honest, flying, being flying, is way awesome. But if you're just _hearing_ about flying, it's pretty damn boring. So I'm gonna keep the flying stories to a minimum unless we're kicking Eraser butt or flying through a hurricane. Since Erasers weren't chasing us, and we were in _South Dakota,_ we were _just_ flying.

After Gazzy dive-bombing the 5th plane we saw –which almost gave me a heart attack- we just all decided to do that with the planes that were going the way we were, because your average Boeing travels around 500 mph at cruising, and the fastest I can go is around 230. If no one felt the huge _THUMP!_ of six birdkids landing on a plane all at once, we must _really_ be light.

I had to say, it was really one of his better ideas. There was, however, a drawback. The plane, going super fast, made it almost impossible to stay on, so we were pretty much plastered onto it. I think Angel scared the living crap out of whoever was on the plane, latched onto the wings with Total's scrawny head poking out of her backpack.

We couldn't hear ourselves think, and going to sleep would spell certain death, whether by falling off the plane, plummeting to the earth/getting sucked into the turbines. Number 2 would be preferable, because, hell, if I die, they're all going down with me. It's like that sweet little Fang moment on the beach when I tried to stab the chip out of my arm –Emo moment!- and he said, quote "YOU die when WE die!"

Aw. I love seeing Fang all scared and vulnerable, haha. Oh, how sadistic I am.

Iggy learned to shut up the second he opened his mouth to yell, no doubt, _what the hell is going on, I'm freaking blind, how did I even dive-bomb this freaking thing?_ when his lips flew back and did this weird jerky-thing, which continued until he put his head down –which was forcibly slammed into the plane- and took a few deep breaths.

Now _zat, _mis amigos, is boring as hell. Gripping a plain for fear of your life, yet not being able to sleep, eat, _move,_ or do _anything._ On the plus side, however, we got to Canada somewhat legally –I mean, the plane _was_ full of legal people going to Canada- and much faster. When we landed somewhere in Ontario, we jumped off, and promptly threw up. I'm not going to lie to spare a bit of dignity. Even for Fang. –Snicker snicker.-

Airports are _big. _I'm not kidding. That pretty much sounds like I'm stupid, or have been in the mountains too long, but jeezum. They have cute little Italian pizza places with checkered tablecloths, travel stores with just about every kind of junk food _ever,_ Starbucks stands in giant food courts, long lines waiting for flights, with a freshly stocked box of complementary peanut bags waiting for you inside.

Our original plan was to hover above the airport until we found another flight, but I think we were all too sick to go through that again for at least a day.

So what do you do when you're stuck in Ontario, Canada for a day, and have nothing to do? Go to the annual moose festival? Tail the locals, making Canada jokes all the way? Visit the home of a famous Canadian actor, perhaps? Ah, all worthy answers. Sadly, those aren't exactly what we did. I know I was looking forward to that moose festival. –Wistful sigh-

Turns out Sadbury, Ontario hosts the world's largest Nickel. Guess what we went to see?

I'm pretty sure Iggy and Gazzy spent the whole time trying to figure out how to blow it up. You can't blow up a 30-foot Nickel! Who does that? It's wrong. Oh, so wrong. Also, Angel, you're not going to find any thoughts coming from the Nickel. It's big, but no. Just, no.

And Nudge, what's the point of flying over and touching it, when a) there are lots of people, b) all you will get from it is the memories of 1000 people thinking _why the heck did I ever come here, it's so freaking boring!!_, c) you can't really brag to all your friends about touching it. Miley Cyrus, maybe. Maybe.

I think Fang was eyeing it greedily, trying to figure out how much it'd be worth. It's a nickel, it's only worth a nickel! …But wait…

It's big, dammit. Curse it all. Fang _is_ the smart one.

-Wistful sigh part 2-

That's when the Nickel found it convenient to spontaneously bend itself in half.

Just kidding!

The only problem was, it _did_ break in half. And Sir Tall, Grotesque and Muscle-y was standing on top of it.

Oh, snap.

**Bam. There you have it. **

**~Rachel**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N - Thanks to all my great reviewers, and everyone who favorited this story, you guys rock, I enjoy your comments, criticism, and those of you who post more than once. I'm sorry, I know it's been over 2 weeks since I last updated, I've been kind of busy. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. **

**Sophie - Especially for you guys, I hope there was the right amount FAX for you in this chapter. ^^ **

**Yticilef Ninorc - Thank you, this is relatively new, so hopefully there will be more comments, ^^ Thnx for reviewing. **

**HeartofFeathers547 - There IS a real 30 foot nickel, I promise! xD There will be more on the hulk guy, dun't worry. **

**Life of a Winged Teenager**

**Chapter 6**

Oh, _shit, _no. Not _this_ guy again. Maybe his mom tried to hard to encourage him to make new friends.

This was seriously jacked up. Not only had he shown up for a _second _time in _two days, _but _he broke the world's largest Nickel. _This will _not_ stand.

Iggy and Gazzy looked jealous, Angel horrified, Nudge pissed, Fang blank, Iggy puzzled/irritated, as in, _I heard a huge SNAP!, wtf is going on?_

Crap. Turns out he hadn't totally killed Ari, considering the fact that he was right there, smiling evilly, thirsty for revenge. And you know what they say. Revenge is a dish best served with Ari.

Well, Ari clearly thought so, anyway. The Incredible Hulk, once again, had two Erasers and a team of whitecoats for backup. "Any last words, freaks?" Ari practically growled at us, then lunged at Fang, who immediately swerved to the left.

The trouble was, Angel and the Gasman hugged each other and screamed; Fang moving aside had given Ari a clear path, barreling right into the siblings.

The other Eraser stepped out from behind the hulk-dude, flashing an evil smile at Nudge, who shivered, no doubt what happened yesterday.

Lovely.

And the man driving this crazy train? Snapped his fingers and looked up, thinking he knew something that we didn't.

He was right.

One by one, six cages fell out of the sky. Like, as in, _fell _out of the sky. Now this was just sad. What was worse? Fang, Gazzy, Angel, Nudge, Total and I all got trapped in them. Iggy was lucky enough to be in the air when I yelled, "_Left Ig, left!!!" _And he got a chance to zoom out of the way, right as the cage landed on Ari. Heyhey, bonus.

Now think about this for a second. We've got it all right here. Sadistic Erasers, terrifying air muscle guy, whitecoats with ten-inch needles, what was most likely helicopters dropping cages on us, and _Iggy, _the _blind_ kid, was the only one left.

It would have been totally different if it was Fang. He could _see, _so he could rescue us, track us, give that loser a piece of his fist. But Iggy couldn't find his way to his shoelaces, let alone wherever the hell they planned to take us.

But he sure as heck knew what to do. He flew away, and didn't look back. In five seconds, no one could see him anymore.

They proceeded to stack us into the back of a semi, dark and dusty, with other experiments of all sizes and the smell of the rotting dead ones. Read over the last sentence. Can you imagine that? Trust me, you can't.

They shut the door after they piled Angel into the space next to my crate.

"Flock. Report in."

"Here," Fang replied bitterly as he shook the dust and grime out of his overlong hair.

"They're here too, Max," Total said as Nudge, Gazzy and Angel remained silent.

"H-How can he d-do that to us? Max, w-we don't know anything about him," Nudge sobbed, her voice growing stronger yet more panicked. "They're gonna take us back, Max. They're gonna do bad things to us. Do more tests. _Kill us."_ A horrified look passed over her face as she whispered the last part.

_Guys, buck up. Honestly, you're as bad as a pubescent Ella on a bad day. I'm six and I survived it. We've always trusted Iggy. Whether he comes to help us or not, we can get out of this. _Angel glared at us with hard determination, and I knew she was projecting her thoughts to all of us.

I felt like a loser. I just got a pep talk from a six year old.

Wait a second. Maybe it was too early to be thinking of regrets. But I'm pretty sure I have a good idea of what they would all say.

I mean, Total was probably moaning internally about how all the poodles in France would turn him down. Angel was no doubt worrying about the poor nickel, probably under the impression that "nickels have feelings too". Gazzy would be the type whose immediate thoughts would be something like, _I forgot to flush my toilet this morning,_ Fang was probably wishing he was cuddling with Amber, and I, I, you ask?

I don't have regrets because I'm freaking JESUS! And regrets make JESUS! cry. Hehe. I crack myself up.

All of a sudden, Fang was either _very_ claustrophobic, or he was struck with this epiphany. He slammed against the right side of his cage, towards the wall of the semi.

Gazzy looked horrified. "Fang, I know we're stuck here and this is tough, but we can make it. It's all good, dog."

"No, idiot. Everyone slam against the right side of your cages!"

We may not have thought that through, because we all did without question. If you scrawny humans were to do that, you'd kill yourselves like a bird slamming into a window because it saw its freaking reflection. We were so strong, however, that we sent the truck _rolling._

And I mean, _rolling._

It flipped over on its side and rolled off the edge of the road, hitting objects that may have been trees, or people. We'll never know!

My cage crashed through Fang's, knocking into the side of his head, causing a stream of blood to jet from his head and onto the floor. Angel and Gazzy were rammed sideways into the door at the back of the semi, making it spring open, their broken cages tumbling out.

I punched the top out of the dog crate and crawled out with the rest of the flock, who looked like hell. Fang, Nudge and I were still rolling around in the rolling semi until I grabbed them and yanked them out at hyper drive, my arms almost tearing out of their sockets.

We fell to the ground a few feet away, and watched, awestruck, as the semi rolled into an abandoned barn and exploded, sending an actual actual mushroom cloud into the atmosphere. Have you heard the latest on the hole in the ozone problem? Definetly our fault.

You've read from the past chapter that this guy was strong enough to withstand _anything._ Obviously, he was a very specially made experiment, a hybrid of what, I'm not sure. Of course we had to see if it had survived, because if it had, our problems were far from over.

Walking around like drunken gorillas, we finally made it to the crash site. It was horrible. I mean, I hate whitecoats as much as the next loser, but they were everywhere. Charred, discarded, motionless. The Erasers were nowhere to be found, and hanging out of the window of the overturned semi was the incarnate of pure evil.

I got down next to his face and felt for a pulse. I felt his neck and his wrists, when a huge hand shot out and grabbed me around the throat. I gasped in surprise, but no air made it into my lungs. He gave me a blood-chilling glare, and went limp, as motionless and cold as ice. My face turned white. "Let's just get out of here," I barely managed to whisper.

"We didn't even get to find out who that was," said Gazzy.

"Something tells me when we get to where we're going, we'll find the answer," replied Fang in a no-questions-please tone of voice.

We were so off track, and I had no idea where we were. I soared above the clouds, and found the nearest town, a few miles away. I didn't know if we were in Canada anymore, closer to Nunavut, or farther away.

As if by reading my thoughts, Fang came up behind me. "We'll find a map in town."

We flew into the outskirts and then walked into town, and I was amazed to see that they had a swimming pool. It was only very early fall, but I was still surprised. I didn't even _need_ the flock's pleading eyes to know to go there.

Coincidentally, being fall, they were also having a clearance on swimsuits. Nudge insisted that she picked out all of our swimsuits. After getting saddled with a small white bikini, I was too freaking mortified to notice what anyone else was wearing –not like I even needed to look at Fang to know what he picked out- and went into the bathroom to change out of the grimy, bloodstained old clothes.

When I got out, everyone was already out there. I mean, Nudge was the only one sitting on a towel with huge sunglasses, which I'm sure were not obtained legally, but they were all there, even Total, laying in the sun with a magazine.

I plopped down next to Nudge and ran my fingers through my hair self-consciously when she lowered her sunglasses and said, "WOW, Max, you could be at least eighteen. I said, I said, I am _such_ a genius."

_Because you're not the one _wearing _it with Fang right there, _I silently seethed to myself.

I sat on the edge of the pool and dangled my feet in the lukewarm water when I was pulled in, shrieking. A laughing Fang came up out of the water, soaked hair plastered to his head, a real smile on his face for real, ever since we had disagreed about the "having a home" issue.

At some point, we both stopped laughing and just stared at each other. At first he was awkward, and then he started to lean closer until his eyes started to close and he tilted his head to the left. I practically stopped breathing.

A wave of water splashed us apart as the Gasman took a flying leap into the pool. No one had seen, but it was already ruined, and Gazzy cackled like a maniac, not knowing he had made an awkward situation even more awkward. I ducked underwater and headed for the other end of the pool, my heart pounding, thinking, _oh God, what did I just almost do?_

"I have to go to the bathroom," I mumbled to no one in particular and ran, locking myself into a stall, putting the lid down and just sitting there, hugging my knees to my chest for what must have been twenty or thirty minutes.

When I came out, Fang and Iggy were asleep on separate ends of a bench, Angel and Gazzy were playing marco polo, Nudge was screaming as she came down a water slide, and Total had moved on and was giving Angel major hints to Gazzy's whereabouts.

I wrapped a towel around myself and sat down next to Fang, laying my head on his shoulder. Without opening his eyes, he recognized it was me and put his arm around my shoulders. Which, a year ago, I wouldn't have had the guts to do, but after the Amber thing, what was the worst that could happen to me? I drifted off to sleep as the sun sank lower on the horizon. It was one of those classic "awww" moments.

* * *

I woke up on a hotel bed next to Iggy, who was "watching" TV, just as Fang walked through the door with seven cans of Fanta. Total wagged his tail as Fang gave him his own bowl of the stuff. The younger kids were nowhere to be seen, but that was typical. I smiled groggily at Fang as he handed me a can and a glass of ice cubes.

I walked into the bathroom and immediately started brushing my hair. Max + Sleep + Hair = a bad hair day you don't wanna meet in a dark alley without at least $25. I finally gave up and decided that it would be better just to take a shower all together.

Walking out of the shower a while later in fresh clothes, –apparently Iggy had been thoughtful enough to do the laundry- I walked down to the hotel lobby for the free dinner buffet and came back up with seven plates heaped with food, six in my arms and one expertly balanced on my head. "TakeitTakeitTakeit Fang!" I said as I walked into the room, the plate slipping farther off.

He stood there until it hit the floor, then grabbed a plate out of my arms. I scowled. He shrugged. "The dog can get it," he said, then winced. We heard Total scream from down the hall, "I am _not _a dog!" right before the younger kids walked in and grabbed a plate of their own.

"Don't mind the blind guy over here," grumbled Iggy. I ruffled his hair and sat a plate on his lap.

Iggy and Nudge got their way, and we watched High School Musical on TV. Note to self: no more "musicals". EVER.

_Don't let your guard down, Max, _said the Voice in my head.

_Oh, hey, Voice. What's up?_

_Focus, Max. You just disrupted a multi-million-dollar program. That muscled man you destroyed was worth more than they would pay for all the experiments at the school. Now they're coming for you. _

_Have you been reading scary stories before bed again? _

_I'm being serious, Max. Watch yourself when you get farther north. They're not just going to let us go. _

I must have appeared very deep in thought. Fang got a worried look on his face. I saw it and reassured him quickly, "More Voice crap. But it's fine. I promise." I was really becoming a pro at lying, his features relaxed and he continued eating.

"She's lying, Fang," came Angel's voice. "Max, the Voice is right. We hurt that guy, and he was a special experiment. I didn't get thoughts from him. They were in 0's and 1's, like computer speak. That thing was not normal. And we're gonna have to pay for that."

We all gaped at her. No matter if she can read and control minds, talk to fish, shoot fire from her eyes, and breathe underwater, she's still only six. And she sounded just like a prophecy-maker or something.

"Umm…who wants donuts?" I asked, passing a heaping plateful.

I collected everyone's plates and dumped them in the trash can in the hall. I reminded myself to stay calm, all this Voice stuff was normal, I shouldn't be worrying.

I spun around face-to-face with Fang.

"What was that lying to me earlier?" He asked, fury in his voice. My heart melted. He had been worried about me.

I stepped closer. "I don't want to think about that right now. We all spend too much time thinking about that. I ignore the Voice most of the time. I didn't want you to worry…"

I was cut off by his finger on my lips. "I know."

I shook my head. "Why did you follow me here? Is that all? It's done."

He smiled. "We were kind of in the middle of something earlier."

My heart stopped. He tiled my chin up with his thumb, leaned in, and gently pressed his lips to mine.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N - Oh, man. I just got my wisdom teeth out, so I have felt super dizzy since I wrote chapters 6-7 this weekend. 2 Chapters in 2 days. I'm such a giver. You guys enjoy, okay? But if it sucks, don't flame, ok? I'm on tons of pain medicine that makes me loopy. xD**

**AndThenItBegan - I'll be honest, when I read your review, I thought, oh, shit, I wasn't thinking about Canadians reading the story. I don't really plan on cities much, because they're always moving around. Thank you for noticing though, ^^**

**nm-maximumride4eva - xD You're lucky I got off my lazy butt and started writing again. This is for you guys! **

**Life of a Winged Teenager**

**Chapter 7**

I pulled back abruptly, fear and love and vulnerability in my eyes. "_What are you _doing_?" _I whisper-shrieked.

Fang put his hand up to my cheek. "What I've wanted to do since I was around ten years old." And he leaned in again.

Right then, millions of flashbacks popped into his head. Flashbacks of him helping me when I was little, backing down and allowing me to be leader, comforting me after a fight, and it had never been more than just brother and sister.

Flashbacks of him kissing the Red-Haired Wonder, basking in the glow of his fangirls from his blog, accepting the date from Amber, and I had doubts. It had never been like this when there were other girls. Now we were all alone, and the only girl his age was me. What did he want from me? Was I finally good enough now that he had _no one?!_

So I pushed him back and looked him in the eye. "…Somehow…it seems that if that was something you wanted to do…you should have done it before messing around with those other girls, Fang."

I turned around and walked away. As I rounded the corner and through the door, prepared to fly outside, I saw Iggy catch him by the arm and take him back inside.

I looked up at the sky, prepared for Erasers to come and take me away, but they didn't come. The one time I could have used them, they failed me. This was so typical. I smiled bitterly as I sat down on the curb, and heard soft footsteps behind me. I closed my eyes and didn't look up when I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"Max," Iggy said.

I swallowed a lump in my throat. "I guess you heard all that…huh, Ig."

He pulled me around into a hug, and I cried into his chest. "Why didn't he tell me, Ig…he didn't ever tell me…and he never cared before now, I'm sure…"

His hand stroked my hair absently, but he didn't ever speak. He couldn't have said anything. Surely this would have been kind of upsetting, Iggy was the closest thing to an older brother that I had, even if he was younger, he was always wiser than me.

Fang was his best friend, not even the Gasman could be old enough to always know what to do for Iggy, to give him advice, to be _Iggy's _older brother. And I was like his younger sister, the one he was supposed to protect at times like this, but always stand behind my leadership skills in a fight. He was totally caught in the middle. There was nothing he could say to me that wouldn't upset Fang, and there was nothing he could say to Fang that wouldn't upset me. He couldn't make this one of our faults.

I looked up sometime later, after a huge spot on his shirt was soaked from my tears. I jabbed him hard in the chest with my index finger. "You tell _anyone_ about this, you _die,_ Ig."

He smiled. "That's more like Max. Even when she's upset." He held up a twenty, and we flew to a burger stand down the street and bought a ton of food, eating it all. By the time we got back home, we were laughing and happy. This was perfect, Fang didn't see that I was upset, I looked happy, and this made him angry.

* * *

After the others went to sleep, Angel flopped back on the pillow next to Nudge and closed her eyes and evened her breaths. She opened one eye in time to see Fang drag Iggy into the hall.

After exactly two seconds of mental debate, Angel crawled over to the cracked door and saw Fang slam Iggy against the wall, then pace back in forth.

Fang stopped right in front of Iggy and ran his hand through his overlong hair. "Look…Ig…about Max, why are you spending so much time with her?" he asked in a worried voice. "Do you…like Max?"

Iggy gave a soft chuckle. "Fang, you take way to much crack. She's like…a sister. I love her like a sister. She doesn't think differently about me. You're being paranoid. It's weird seeing you like this, buddy."

Fang slumped against the wall and sighed, a sound that would erase all the doubts in Max's mind, but life was never so straight-forward with her.

Angel chuckled softly to herself. She knew she didn't need to worry. Fang loved Max, and Max loved Fang, and that was why they were all going to be okay.

* * *

I woke up to the smell of the continental breakfast Iggy had stacked on ten plates, carrying them in the door with Fang. Clearly everyone had showered, and I was the last one up. Pancakes, bacon, fruit, muffins, little cereal boxes, sausage, and cartons of orange juice were all piled high with tons of napkins and little plastic forks, there to greet me. My mouth watered as Iggy put them all on the bed and handed each of us a fork.

The Gasman cackled as he speared a pancake and 3 pieces of bacon on a fork, then rolled them into a burrito. Nudge smiled brightly as she grabbed a box of fruit loops, and Angel skewered all the strawberries in the fruit cup, receiving bitter complaints from those of us who liked strawberry-whipped cream pancakes.

I had exactly two seconds before Iggy and Fang stole everything. "Nooooo!" I cried diving for the muffin plate as Iggy tackled me, with uncanny precision, to the ground, leaving me a single blueberry muffin before retreating to the bathroom.

"Great," I said, thoroughly annoyed. "He's going to finish them in there."

I started packing our clean clothes in our backpacks, throwing away the remaining food, and stalking angrily into the bathroom, pushing Iggy into the hall and locking him out. "This always ends up happening, sooner or later," Fang mused.

After taking a shower, brushing my hair and putting on some clean clothes, I was able to get the flock out of the hotel and into the air. "Alright, guys, we have to make good time. We have to get up north, preferably by _today_."

"More plane hitchhiking would be nice," Gazzy put in. "I mean, that was so cool, we freaked out everyone on the plane!"

"I know, I know! Max could fly us there at super speed and we could get there sooner! And then we could kick their butts and demand why they keep chasing us with the guy with the muscles that thought he was all-"

Someone clamped a hand over Nudge's mouth. At any rate, I didn't really care who it was, it got her to shut up. "Nudge, you're all really heavy. I can't teleport. I'd end up breaking my back."

"You lazy Americans. Whatever happened to some good old fashioned flying? You guys have gotten far too spoiled for your own good," Fang commented, flying ahead of us and not making eye contact with me, which he had avoided since this morning. When had he gotten so talkative to the rest of them anyway?

Well…Fang's plan was the best.

We made the usual steady time as we crossed the land. Slowly the land began to change from grassy and comforting like that of the Midwest, to harsher as there were fewer cities and we traveled farther north.

I caught myself worrying about the 30-foot nickel, knowing it couldn't be fixed, and hating the hulk and whoever made him. I knew we would find our answer at the headquarters we were trying to locate, but I was scared of anyone psychotic enough to do that to us, to design that thing especially to fight us.

At the same time, there was a Fang problem. I loved him, right? I should have been waiting for it, waiting for his kiss, but something felt wrong. Like I was the best he could find on short notice. I know, I'm making him look like a jerk. But that was how I felt about him.

Hmm. Maybe I'll promote Iggy to my right-wing man.

Come to think of it, what were we supposed to be looking for? A big sign that said, "Itex headquarters, Max enter here"? Yeah. That'd be sweet.

As we flew farther north, we began to see the ocean, the icebergs, the cute little polar bears –possibly mauling a fish or two, hmmm?-. Just kidding. But we did see actual bears, and lots of mountains.

It was deep in these mountains that the headquarters were rumored to be located, and we were relying solely on Fang's laptop for this. Yeah, I'm so sure there are Eskimos in Nunavut that want to help us destroy Itex. Win back their igloos or something.

What was even sadder? Gazzy kept asking me when we would see penguins. Oh, Gazzy. You never learn.

"They're gonna show up soon, okay, Gaz?" said an annoyed Fang, after he asked for the seventh time.

Oh, Fang. Like I always say, one day, you will wake up and your pants will be on fire. You will ask yourself, is it because I am so hot? No, Fang. No. It's because you lie. You're a liar.

From the sky, we saw a building. Low to the ground and flat, in a basin of mountains, were hundreds of cars, helicopters, jets, and a facility that must have been it. We tucked our wings in and fell to the earth, walking until we were just outside the basin, and night began to fall.

The air was frigid cold, and we huddled together, all seven of us and our wings, close together. I knew Fang was looking at me, but he must have known if he so much as touched me now, I would snap his arm. Our wings were large and, can be surprisingly comfy despite being made of thin skin and bones. Three layers of feathers, oh yeah.

After the others had drifted off to sleep, Fang was still only a foot from my face. "Look, Max…I know I surprised you, and I'm sorry, but I meant what I said. That's all I wanted to say." He closed his eyes, but I knew he was nowhere near sleep.

* * *

I yawned and stretched as I popped open a can of beans and a bag of chips. Turns out not sleeping at all gives you time to think. Too bad I didn't think, either. "Up and at 'em, guys," I said as I gently shook them awake.

Angel's teeth were chattering as she took a fistful of chips and started to shake Gazzy awake, too. Without a word, I handed them all a pair of sunglasses except for Iggy, because the sun's reflection on the snow was blinding.

I realized that this was stupid. I was just going to walk in there, unarmed. Fang, Iggy and I let the younger kids eat, but we needed to ration our food for the journey back to a city, somewhere we could get food. Tired, hungry, unarmed and stupid, I was going to walk into Itex with a seven-mutant army.

I packed away the food within 10 minutes after getting it out. "Let's go," I said tiredly, not caring if I sounded leader-ish anymore. I started down the side of the mountain, and in a matter of minutes we were all at the bottom of the basin, looking right at the simplest thing that had ever happened to us – a front door. How convenient.

I took a deep breath and then walked in.

It would have been so cool if we had slow motion, too. We had sunglasses, we had wind to blow our hair back, not to mention the wings must have looked cool. But really, it ended up looking like we all limped in and sighed with relief because the place had heating.

We were in a huge room, all of it metal and very polished-looking, and a huge ceiling, certainly big enough to fit quite a few planes. There were capsules on the walls that might have been elevators, looking like they led to somewhere else, other rooms. The place looked like an airport without anything in it, coated in metal.

We all jumped as we heard the sound of one of the capsules opening. It was indeed an elevator, and a blonde woman who was probably in her thirties walked out of it with a clipboard, glasses and a pen, looking very dressed up and boss-ish.

"Max, Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Angel, and…erm…the…Gasman?"

Like we'd never heard someone stumble over the Gasman's name before. It takes more than that to impress us, guys!

She didn't even wait for a nod, we had wings, dammit! "We've been waiting for you guys. Please follow me so we can discuss this calmly with the other scientists."

Wait, wait, _other _scientists? I nodded at Fang and followed her, as the flock calmly followed me. We all squished into the elevator, and I could tell that Fang desperately needed to punch something before he exploded all over the elevator walls.

As we filed out of the elevator, I saw that we were standing in a stadium, and sitting all around us were other scientists, each in a _white coat. _In the center, there was a podium, and to the side of it, six chairs for us. I snorfle-coughed as Total gave an indignant huff. The blonde woman motioned for us to sit down, as she made her way up to the podium.

I paused before sitting down; you never know when handcuffs are going to pop out of the chair and around your wrists, trapping you, getting you a one-way ticket to a dog crate. Well, maybe not _you _personally, but me.

So, naturally, I pushed Iggy into his seat first. Turns out it was safe, so I figured it was alright to sit too, trying not to close my eyes, to close my eyes would be to fall asleep.

"The experiments are safe, and they have come to us willingly," began the blonde woman. "They have come to us for answers, so we will give those answers. You scientists, who have been studying them, can answer their questions."

I couldn't imagine them being that cooperative. Plus, answers weren't the main thing we wanted. We really wanted to destroy any branch of Itex. It was Nudge who stood up first to point this out. Without even a microphone, her voice carried across the entire stadium.

"Why are you doing this? Experimenting on people, animals, then throwing it all away? Creating Erasers so they can kill us? What we want – what the kids of the world want, is for you to stop being so careless, help the environment, and not take any more lives!

"How can you sleep at night, knowing this? While you go on with your lives, your earning so much money for taking them, we are fighting for ours every day. This isn't right, it wasn't even legal kidnapping us when we were young, for use in the labs of the School. With this knowledge you have, you have the ability to help so many people, but you turn down that opportunity, and for what? So you can sell us and your souls to China, giving them more weapons?

"Think about what you're doing? Now, you're nothing better than monsters, extinguishing life so quickly, it's inhumane. I believe we deserve a chance at life, and I mean, I want to _live, _not just _survive. _I won't rest, and neither will they, until what you've made into a worthless, silly dream, comes true."

She sat down, after using her mouth for the most meaningful thing I had ever heard her say. She had summed up what we had all been feeling, what our point for being here was, why all the readers of Fang's blog were so angry at them, because of what they did.

There was silence for a moment. It was creepy, you could hear a pin drop, and hundreds of people were there. Suddenly, a young man stood up.

"You're right," he paused to consult his clipboard, "Nudge, it is inhumane and illegal, and that's why you're here. That's why the voice and Fang's computer sent you here. We're not trying to hurt you like before."

An older African-American woman stood up. "Honey, we're working hard to end this, and we're working hard to help you. We _did_ send the muscled man to bring you here, but we couldn't control his mind. He had his own free will, and he was angry at us, and angry at you, his mission. He got out of control and tried to kill you. But we needed you here to tell you this."

The blonde woman turned back to us. "We're not the bad guys. We're not on their side. We're here to help you _save the world._"

**Hope you enjoyed, xD Review, please. I need some help deciding what Fanfic to start next, so vote on the poll on my page, okay? Thanks, you guys. **

**~Rachel**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N- First, I am incredibly sorry for not updating, but I have updated more stories this weekend, so you can read them or enjoy this chappy. xD Second, I'm going to be uploading two IggyXNudge alternate realities this week, so read if you want to. Third, there is a lot more happy FAX love here. This is a romance, so no complaining. Read on, read on! **

**Lauren - Is it okay if I call you Lauren? Lol. Thank you for your constant long reviews. Your review actually made me want to upload a chapter, so if this chapter is bad, it is all your fault. xD**

**Life of a Winged Teenager**

**Chapter 8**

Okay, first: _Get a new line, people!_ That wasn't the first time I'd heard "oh, we're just gonna help you save the world". Second: It was really bumming me out that I _had_ to save the world. So, naturally, right after she said that, I burst out with a huge, whiney, "Seriously?! This again?"

Everyone stared. I mean, technically, we were _looking_ for Itex in the first place to save the world. We were travelling without a home to save the world. Stop pollution, large corporations, get people to go green, I totally get it, but for some reason, whenever anyone reminds me that I have to save the world, I get really stressed out.

Fang cleared his throat. "Oh, right," I muttered, then sat back down. "Continue."

"We do find the School's experiments to be inhumane and illegal, but this is a bit like blackmail. You see, we owe a large amount of debt to the School, and this is why they can control us. The School is interested in making money by creating experiments and selling them to large corporations and to other countries as weapons."

Nudge folded her arms over her chest. "I believe they have yet to make a bulletproof experiment," she said skeptically. "Selling us to China wouldn't really work. We try to fight for them, they shoot us out of the sky. Birdkids go boom."

"The school is hard at work on new experiments," the blonde woman said coldly. "The oldest of you is approximately 14 or 15 years old, and the experiment was continued until you were created," she glanced at Angel and Gazzy.

"We're old experiments, Nudge," said Fang. "They've probably made all kinds of other experiments that are 'better' than us by now."

"Then why is it that we've never had an expiration date? Why is it that we've outlasted all their other experiments? If we're so old, why are we still here?" I replied scathingly to the blonde woman. "They've got no better. Even that 'special experiment' wasn't able to take us on," I sneered.

"How is that thing even specially made?" wondered Gazzy. "It was such a piece of crap."

"Despite its somewhat primitive looks, that experiment was only the first edition of a series of experiments the school has planned to unleash on you. He was like a rough draft, only to prepare the scientists at the School to see what they were up against."

"We can take anything," I snapped at her. "Have you seen what we can do? That was hardly a challenge. He was defeated in two days."

The woman shook her head. "We're here to warn you, Max, and tell you that we stand behind you one hundred percent. We believe in saving the world, and we will try our hardest to stand up to the School. This has to end, and we will help you end it."

I was silenced. I couldn't put up a fight now; we couldn't make an enemy of Itex. For now, we needed them on our side, only to take them down later. I nodded formally. "We will accept your help. We will start targeting the School instead of you now."

I turned back to the flock and took a deep breath. "We should go. I know she was planning to go on a monologue, but that's really all she needed to say. We have to start targeting the School, but for now, we're going back to my mother in Mesa. It will take some time to get home," I said, already thinking ahead as usual.

Fang thanked the blonde woman, and guided us out the way we came, giving me a pointed look, a look that said that he was on my side, no matter what had happened yesterday. "I'm not through with you yet," I hissed as I stalked past him and out the door.

"Let's get in the air," I announced as we passed through the doors. My hair whipped around my face through my hood, and I shivered through the thin sweatshirt that was all I had. "The sooner we fly, the sooner we get home."

As we took to the sky, I glanced back at my troops. Gazzy, Nudge and Angel looked thoroughly ratty and exhausted, while Iggy and Fang had grim smiles plastered on their faces from all they had endured. I hesitated before I opened my mouth again.

"Guys…when we get back to Mesa, there's no hurry to save the world. We can…stay for a few days if we want. We can't go back to school, but we don't have to kill each other either."

That was probably what they wanted to hear most by now. Smiles lit up their faces, so I pretended not to notice how happy they were at throwing it all away as long as they could lounge in a small house with air-conditioning and real food.

"So…plane hitchhiking?" asked Iggy with a smile and a small glimmer of hope in his sightless eyes. I laughed. "Sure, Ig. Plane hitchhiking."

I flew up steadily, far above plane cruising altitude. We flew backward for a while, eyes searching for a plane heading in the American border's general direction. It was a slow process, not much traveled up north. The first time we saw a plane was farther south, close to some cities in the Northwest Territories. As planes landed and took off, we were waiting for a jet as it left in a very promising southbound direction.

Just above the clouds and out of sight, we watched exactly like hawks as one slowly took off, its wheels running along the cement runway as it prepared to take flight. As it got farther and farther from the airport, about to lift into the air, the six of us dropped like rocks onto the plane, still on the runway. A loud thump sounded, but the plane was in the air now, and it was too late to stop and check what it was.

Soon we figured out the spots that you could hang onto and not fall off the plane, and I slapped Fang a quick high-five, until I remembered that I was angry with him. He snorted as I turned my head away, resuming my anger.

Total's head popped out of Angel's windbreaker. "This is kind of fun," he yelped joyfully as Angel winced. "Yeah, and you're about half of my weight, Total! Have fun on your own time when I'm not holding on for dear life!"

Total looked hurt and put on a pained expression, slinking in Angel's coat and sleeping there for the rest of the flight.

As the plane hit the ground when we arrived, Iggy jumped and onto the pavement with uncanny precision, punching his fist in the air. Nudge promptly ran to the edge of the lot and threw up, which Iggy snorted at. "Come on, you have to do something cool once in a while. Live, Nudge, Live!" Iggy shouted, laughing as she stalked back, a murderous look on her face.

"Iggy…you…die…get…back…here…now!" she shrieked, running after him, throwing both of her bright pink Converse shoes at his head. Despite her words, I knew that Nudge was really happy, and that she was always comfortable around Iggy.

Which, come to think of it, would be a problem if Nudge decided that she like-liked Iggy. Nudge, as much as she looked like she was 15, was really just an 11 year old kid. A very tall 11 year old kid, but still an 11 year old kid. _Wait, Max, _I thought. _Maybe it's nothing. Maybe she just feels more of a connection with Iggy than with the rest of us._

_Maybe, but Nudge's thoughts suggest otherwise, _cackled Angel as she projected the thoughts into my head.

Oh, no. Nudge couldn't be in love with Iggy…could she?

* * *

I had been observing Nudge and Iggy all the time we were at the mall outside the airport. When we went in for coffee, I sat with Gazzy and Angel, who uncomfortably decided to sit with Fang, while Iggy and Nudge announced that they were going for smoothies and would be back later.

So I excused myself to the bathroom and started tailing Iggy and Nudge. As I rounded the corner, keeping a good twenty feet from them, I literally stopped and gagged as they headed into the movie theater.

I presume you kids know what people do in movie theaters.

…Easy, you perves, I didn't mean it _that _badly. But Iggy and Nudge _were_ my brother and sister. So this was major weird. I resumed gagging as I slumped back into the coffee place. For the rest of the time, no one noticed where Iggy and Nudge were, and certainly no one would have looked in the freaking movie theater.

Angel seemed to be surprisingly okay with all of this.

For the remaining two hours I was dragged by _Angel _through every store in the mall, while Gazzy gazed at T-rated video games and Fang inspected various black T-shirts.

I glared pointedly at Nudge, but it was completely wasted as she was practically radiating with happiness. I was going to have to talk to her about this later.

* * *

I leaned back on the couch and took a deep breath, biting down on another chocolate-chip cookie. I had a towel wrapped around my head from a hot shower, and America's Funniest Home Videos playing on the TV, one of those snowmobile-gone-wrong episodes. I chuckled maniacally as the driver was thrown into a snow drift.

"And the empress of darkness strikes again," said Fang darkly as he entered the room with a can of coke and his precious laptop.

I rolled my eyes and munched on a third cookie. "Rock on, emo boy."

I glanced around the room. Other than my mom in the kitchen with her iPod, and therefore her earbuds in, unable to hear, there was no one around. This was not good.

"What do you want, Fang?" I said tiredly as he opened the laptop to his blog and began sifting through the comments. "I've got to get that restraining order," I mumbled in irritation.

"Hey, I agreed not to bother you because you were on one of your mood swings, alright?" he said, finally cracking. "You didn't get what I was trying to explain to you. I like you, Max, and I don't understand why you're so mad at me."

I blinked. Fang never really ranted. Because ranting was such a "girl" thing, I'm sure he was very pleased about his emo boy image. It took me a split second for the fur y to kick in. And when I snapped, I_ snapped_. "Mood swings? How about you, Fang? Hanging around countless girls and then finally just telling me you "like" me? When I'm the only girl your age in the Canadian tundra? Forgive me for being suspicious and hesitant when you're always such a two faced _jerk-ass_!" I screeched, fuming.

I snatched his coke –which now that I think of it, was a really childish move- and stalked through the sliding door and into the backyard. "What did you do to Max?" I heard my mom ask Fang as she poked her head through the kitchen door.

No sooner was I out the door than I heard the sliding door open again and felt a warm hand on my wrist. It yanked me back around, and I was face to face with Fang. "Do you think that I can erase what I did, Max? It's done now! I can't do anything about it!" he said in a hoarse whisper. "Do you know what it's like to be with you? You're so superior and you don't need anything. It took some courage to even tell you that, when I was so sure you saw yourself as my boss for the past 14 years."

He wasn't even close to done. "I always assumed you wouldn't want anything to do with me, Max. A few days ago, I got you alone and it was the perfect opportunity. The bright side was that there was no Sam or anyone like him, no dirtbag to mess it up for me. Does that answer all your questions about me? Does this prove it to you, Max?"

I gaped, I stared, I blinked twice. I couldn't even find my voice, and I didn't know where to start. I think I understood why he had never seemed to like me before, why he went with other girls, but I looked away anyway.

Fang sighed. "Max, don't you trust me? Or you could just reject me or something. Speak, Max!"

I laughed. "Now you know how I feel."

Fang rolled his eyes. "Max, do you care about me at all?"

I gulped and took a deep breath. "…Yeah. I…I think I love you."

He smiled at me then. He leaned down and kissed me softly and sweetly, and I kissed him back because this was how it was always supposed to be. I didn't see Nudge and Iggy smiling at us from inside, and I didn't see them hug each other too, and I didn't see Dr. Martinez taking a picture that I would have loved to keep, but it wasn't like any of that mattered right now.

Sooner or later he pulled back and we hugged each other, walking inside as the rest jumped aside and claimed they hadn't been looking.

I thought everything was perfect in my world right then. It was all alright then.

But it wasn't.

**Mysterious tiny cliffhanger, mwa! xD Hope you liked it despite all the FAXish love near the end, haha. *flails away* **

**~Rachel**


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N-An update again, a new chapter just for you guys! 8D What will happen after that FAX-y kiss? A plot twist...read on! **

**booklover404** -** Thank you, it always makes me happy to see a new reviewer. ^_^**

**Life of a Winged Teenager**

**Chapter 9**

The next morning, I woke up to the smell of bacon frying in the kitchen. I walked lazily into the bathroom and stumbled through a quick shower. I had no sooner walked out of my room with clean clothes, when I ran right into Fang, who was kneeling on the floor, his hand outstretched to offer me a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs.

I whacked him on the head with my hairbrush but took the food from him nonetheless, and walked into the living room, sitting down on the couch to eat. I wondered if Erasers would burst in on us today. I hoped not. It would be nice just to have a day off.

That's when I remembered Nudge and Iggy, partially because they walked around all morning hand in hand. Not to mention the fact that Ella had been avoiding them and moping around all morning. Oh, crap. Was this a love triangle? I rolled my eyes as Ella walked into the kitchen for the fifth time, looked in the fridge, decided that she was too depressed to eat, and sulked out of side.

Fang walked into the room with his laptop and plopped himself down next to me. He waved it off. "She'll be fine," he reassured me, but strangely, coming from a guy, this didn't make me feel any better. "I'm going to go talk to Nudge," I announced, and quickly left the room and looked in Nudge's. She wasn't there. I rounded the corner back to the living room. "Have you seen Nudge?" I asked Fang, who was chuckling. "She wasn't there, huh," he mused.

I huffed and left the room, set on finding Nudge. I walked outside, around the backyard, into the small garage, down the road to the park, and checked with my mom. "No, I didn't see her here," she said when I called her at work. "No, sweetie, I don't know where she is. I'll be home later. Bye."

I sat down on my bed, defeated. Where was Nudge? I hadn't seen her since she had been walking around with Iggy. …Iggy…maybe Iggy knew where she was. I walked into the basement, expecting him to be playing on the Xbox with Gazzy. No such luck. Stalking upstairs to Iggy, Gazzy and Fang's room, I figured I'd find him there, if nowhere else.

When I opened the door, I opened my mouth to speak. "Iggy have you seen where Nu-" I paused and my eyes widened. "Iggy, Nudge, what the _hell_ are you _doing_?!" I gasped at them. Right there on the bottom bunk bed, just sitting there, were Iggy and Nudge. _Making out._ Like, making out, making out. "Oh, God, my eyes! Get your own house and you can do that!"

They jumped apart. Iggy had a shocked look on his face, and Nudge just looked plain guilty. "You, me, my room, _now,_" I hissed at Nudge. Once we were in my room, I slammed the door behind me. "What did you _do_ to Iggy?" I shrieked at her. I could tell she was near tears, but that didn't make me forgive her. "He looked so shocked at what he did. Do you know you're only eleven years old?"

She looked up. "Actually, um, Max, that's not really true. See, when I was looking at my file, I noticed the date that I was born, and it wasn't the date that I picked for my birthday. You noticed that I look older than I am, and I do, but not that much older. I'm really thirteen years old right now. I look older because I am older, Max."

"… … …You are grounded…until the day you die," I stated, still in shock. Nudge jumped up. "Oh, please! You and Fang can do it and I can't? You can have a relationship and I can't? You don't think it's weird for me, that you two obviously love each other so much?" she exploded.

"Not only that, Nudge, although you are still too young! Iggy doesn't know you're older! It's wrong, Nudge! And did you think of how much you're hurting Ella by this? She loves Iggy, too! You didn't even talk to her. I get that you really like Iggy, but please be responsible for this!

She sat there for a minute. "E-Ella likes Iggy? Well shit, Max! Iggy thinks Ella's cute, I know he does. If I tell Iggy, they'll be together, instead of me and him, and I love him too! Do you care about Ella more than me? Is that it?"

I sighed. "No, Nudge. Seriously, don't take it too fast. I'll be…okay with you and Iggy…together for now."

"Thank you thank you thank you, Max! I love you so soo much!" she squealed as she happily skipped off to tell Iggy.

Fang walked in from outside the door where he had been blending into the wall. "Are you jealous of her?" he asked worriedly. I sighed. "No, Fang, I'm not in love with Iggy. But think about it. This is going to be weird, Nudge and Iggy together. Not to mention how crushed Ella will be."

He reached out to hug me. After a few seconds he said slyly, "Y'know, we _could_ do the same thing as them…if you wanna," he grinned at me. I rolled my eyes and pushed him back. "_No, Fang!_" I walked away grumbling something about ruining the moment. He chuckled as I left the room, but I didn't hear his disappointed sigh until I was out in the hall.

If Nudge and Iggy had to date anyone, I was glad it was each other. We didn't need any more creepy Lissa, Sam and Amber repeats. I was also pleased that Nudge told me first about her age. I was actually trusted above others, and I was happy about that. I tried not to think about what Nudge and Iggy were doing in the next room, and I was too kind to knock. Angel walked past and snorted into her drink.

Now that everything was taken care of, I was walking around the house, paranoid that we were about to be struck by a flying Eraser or chased by another enemy. The words of the blonde woman flashed into my head, "_Despite its somewhat primitive looks, that experiment was only the first edition of a series of experiments the school has planned to unleash on you. He was like a rough draft, only to prepare the scientists at the School to see what they were up against._"

I decided to do something interesting. So I called the flock for a meeting. "I want to do something we've never done before," I began, "And I'm really hungry. I'm sure you all are too. Sorry that my mom's small fridge doesn't really cut it for us."

Gazzy paused. "Where are you going with this? It sounds like you're talking about food. Is there food? Food is always a good way to go. When in doubt, pig out."

I grimaced. "We're not going to another all-you-can-eat barbeque buffet, Gazzy. I had enough of that in 2005."

I pressed onward. "No, guys, I'm talking about going to an actual Chinese restaurant. With little booths and rice noodles and egg rolls and fortune cookies. Really. Why not try it?"

Fang contemplated the thought. "Alright, I'm in," he finally decided. Seeing the hurt look on my face from them taking so long, he added, "I think it'll be a lot of fun. I think we should go." I beamed at him, and he actually smiled back at me. It felt good to have him on my side now.

"Hell yeah," said Iggy. "We've terrorized barbeque places, McDonalds' and even that fancy restaurant in New York. I'm in."

"If Iggy's going, I'm going!" piped up Nudge, clinging onto Iggy's arm. "Me too!" squeaked Gazzy, followed by Angel's approving nod. I smiled at all of them. Grabbing one of my mom's credit cards, I marched out the door with them.

Fang didn't hesitate to grab my mom's other car. I find it awesome that my mom has two cars, interchangeably switching them. But today, she happened to leave behind the nice one. And I wasn't about to let Fang wreck it. "Er…Fang?" I squeaked, trying to send him a message. He, however, didn't seem to receive this message. "Come on, get in!" he exclaimed excitedly.

I groaned as I was forced to pile into the car. I plugged in my seatbelt tightly, knowing what was coming. No sooner had we done this than Fang pressed hard on the gas and we were speeding off about 50 miles an hour. As he quickly accelerated, turning corners and just missing pedestrians, laughing like a maniac, Nudge clinging to Iggy claiming that she "didn't want to die today!!!", I felt like I wanted to throw up. "Fang, slow down!"

In two minutes flat, we were already there. I was breathing heavily, and Fang had turned to us all, grinning. "Wasn't that awesome?" he asked, his eyes glowing like a little kid's. "Sure, Fang," grumbled Iggy as he filed out of the car and clutched his stomach. "If I ever live through the pain, I'm going to slaughter you and dance on your grave."

I dragged Fang out of the car before he could do much more damage. In the restaurant, it was nice and air-conditioned, and I walked up to the podium in the front. "Table for six, please," I said sweetly to the waiter. Fang glared at me. "Aren't you the charmer," he grumbled as he slid into the booth next to me.

They brought us actual menus, just like at the fancy restaurant in New York. I took my time looking through it, and we ordered four large entrees to share. We were waiting for quite a while, making small talk and comments about the weather. About halfway through the waiting, Iggy chose that moment to say, "If cars could do it, would they have little baby cars?"

I stared at him. We all stared at him. First, that was so Iggy. He would do that to you. But car sex? Wasn't that kind of a new one? Nudge, Gazzy and Angel burst out laughing, while Fang and I were staring at him blankly. Iggy continued, "Wouldn't it be cool if cars could get it on?"

I silently closed my eyes and counted to ten. This was so weird. I finally opened my eyes and thanked God when the server brought us our food. Everything was so delicious, because none of us had ever had Chinese before. But the most interesting part was the fortune cookie at the end of the meal.

Angel opened hers. "You have a powerful gift. Using it will only bring you happiness," she read sweetly, then proceeded to laugh maniacally.

Gazzy opened his. "You have a serious condition. Consider visiting a doctor," he chuckled as he proceeded to wield his dark gift.

Nudge coughed. "Hold it in, Gazzy! Ok, here it is. 'A good thing will soon come your way. Be patient and love the ones around you'. Awwww."

Iggy opened his and had Nudge read it. "Pay close attention to the ones around you. Someone close to you will surely bring you happiness," read Nudge, and my thoughts immediately flew to Ella.

Fang passed on the fortune cookies and handed me mine. I read off of it, "One among you will deceive you soon. Keep your eyes out for a traitor," I said, and we all laughed. "So, like, everyday stuff, right?" laughed Nudge.

As we filed out and I endured one more horrible ride in the car, I couldn't help but think if the fortune cookie message could actually be true.

I went into the backyard when we got home to find Total chewing on his rubber squeaker toy. He paused mid-chew, and the toy dropped to the floor. I smiled. "It's okay, Total, I'm not here to make fun of you. I promise. I wanna take you for a walk, actually."

He cheered up some. "Oh, well okay. Can we go to the park? You know, that dog park where the other dogs are? I met some last week, and they were really nice." His stub of a tail wagged, and I couldn't say no. Really, I just wanted to think for a while. "Okay, we'll go. I'll go get a jacket and your leash."

He gave me a look. I backed down some. "Okay, okay, no leash," I said as I grabbed my jacket and yanked it on. "Let's just go to the dog park. Right now," I said, leading him through the gate around the back.

We were off soon enough. With the dog park only a few blocks down, I sighed a sigh of sweet relief as I was finally able to focus on relaxing in the fresh air. Total interrupted my tranquil thoughts. "Max? You seem kind of lost. Like, you're not really here," he commented. "You should forget about saving the world for a while. I mean, it can wait for a little while. And I know it's hard, being you, but you should try leading a more normal life. It can be more relaxing," he added happily. "Personally, between you and me, I think all this global warming crap is a little bogus."

I laughed out loud –and no, I will not _ever_ write "lol". Curse it all, I just wrote it.-, and it felt weird to be laughing at something Total said. Normally I don't consider him that intelligent and interesting. I know, I know, I don't talk to dogs a lot. Shocking, really. I was walking past the bank and a McDonald's when I heard a conversation going.

"I know, I know it didn't work the first time, we'll get them next time."

A few seconds later, "We'll construct it better. It won't be able to lose."

After that, "I'll make sure it gets to them safely. There will be no mistakes this time."

I backed up until I heard the voice again. I saw a guy talking on a phone. I moved closer to inspect it. I gasped as I realized it was Jeb.

I picked up Total and ran back to the house. He protested. "Hey, I thought we were going to the dog park!" but I didn't let him win. I burst through the front door of the house to find everyone. I sat there panting for a minute. When I could think again, I shouted, "Jeb is a traitor!"

They all looked at me. "W-What?" said Fang.

"Jeb is a traitor. I heard him talking on the phone when I was on a walk with Total! He was talking about a new monster to send after us, and he knows we're here!"

"The fortune cookie was right," Gazzy mumbled in awe.

"He was talking to someone, I'm sure of it. He's gonna arrange for it to find us…" I trailed off as I realized that Nudge and Iggy had fallen to the floor. I took a deep breath and smelled something in the air. "Hey…wait…" I said groggily as I fell to the floor, and everything went black.

**Wahaha, cliffhanger! Mwahaha. Wait till the next chappy! **

**~Rachel**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N- Woot! I got another story done! Happy 10th chapter! *goes crazy and runs into a wall* Thank you to all who review, but it isn't close to over yet! I threw in some FAX for you at the end, ohohoho, *flails away* **

**Life of a Winged Teenager **

**Chapter 10**

I slowly opened my eyes, unable to sit up. The room was spinning, my head was throbbing. I could smell the antiseptic yet again, but there wasn't the usual dread of the School. I was in some sort of hospital room. Where was the flock… where was the flock…? I couldn't even tilt my head to the side, only groan pathetically in agony. My head felt like it weighed four or five tons. "God, one of them's finally awake!" cried a voice enthusiastically. Really, it's enthusiastic people like this that make me think Fang has it made. Why not be an emo kid?

Come to think of it, it was probably one of those stupid fresh-out-of-med-school man-nurses.

"Oh, good, you've finally come to," a voice reached my ears, and I knew that it belonged to the blonde one from Itex. "Oh, God, it's you," I mumbled almost incoherently. Where was my brain? I wasn't thinking straight. "Cheer up, Max, it's me, Michelle, from the Itex branch in Canada? We're here, and you're safe from that Jeb. What a menace." Hold up. I pulled myself into a sitting position and summoned what was left of my brain and willpower.

"Why on holy mother-freaking planet _earth_ would I be cheerful?" I answered scathingly. My eyes widened. "You followed us here, you stalker, you, you child kidnapper! What'd you do with the rest of the flock? Man, when they find out you went with the deadly gas or whatever the hell it was, you're so dead, lady!" I was practically snarling now.

"_Michelle,_" she emphasized all the more cheerfully. "They're all asleep!"

"That's not a good thing!" I shrieked. "How long have we been asleep?"

"Only a few -er, four or five- days. You see, since you're part bird, we didn't know how much of that gas to use. Soooo, um, we goofed. Anyway, we'd like to talk to you, and possibly run some tests," she shrugged innocently. It may have _been_ innocently, but I didn't care. "We goofed" is what people say when they messed up your order from McDonalds, or gave you the H1N1 flu mist, and you got the flu anyway. Not what you say when you _kidnapped and gassed six kids and one dog. _They did gas the dog too, right?

"Anyhow, just because we kidnapped you, doesn't mean we're gonna hold you as prisoners or anything. That Jeb guy, he was bad news. He knew where you lived, and we heard that phone conversation, just like you did. It really sounds like he's going to betray you guys."

"If you don't want to keep us here, let me go," I said stiffly. "He may really be bad news, but he's also my father, and I trust him. He won't betray us, and he certainly wouldn't help the school again," I lied easily, but I knew I was saying all those things so that I would believe them, not so she would. Whether I liked it or not, Jeb was my biological father, and I didn't want to believe he was a traitor to us. Not yet.

I will always hate that my life does this to me. 5...4...3...2...1...

"Die, stupid, stinking door, die, die, _die!_" a muffled voice sounded from out in the hallway before the door came flying off its hinges, hitting _Michelle _nice and squarely, slamming her right into the wall behind me. "Oh, hi there," Nudge chuckled. "That was really fun." I rolled my eyes. At least one of us was having fun on this place of death. I ripped the IV from my arm, ignoring the blood that spurted out. I reached up to the cabinet above me and dumped all the Band-Aids I could get my hands on in to my backpack, which, conveniently, _Michelle_ and her cohorts had actually let me keep.

"Let's get out of here," I said with authority. "We don't know if my mom and Ella are okay yet, and we need to find out about Jeb. I should have known that we wouldn't be able to blow some time. Yesterday was fun, you know, up until this part, but it's over now. Back to reality." They nodded solemnly.

"Go, Max," said a voice behind me, and spun around, face to face with Michelle. The door lay over her, and for the first time, I saw the cuffs attached to her wrists, and I knew she was a prisoner here too. She caught me staring. "This is the school's facility," she said bitterly. "I'm staying here. They-they have your mom and Ella, Max." I gaped in horror. My mom had been through this, but Ella? I didn't want her to have to do this.

Iggy's mouth was pressed in a hard line, and I could see that Nudge wanted to rescue Ella as much as I wanted to live the rest of my life in Nunavut, Canada, but we had no choice. This wasn't even about her. It was about my mom and Ella, not Nudge and her competitive-ness. If Nudge was right about her age, it meant that she was older than Ella by a few months, but that didn't mean she was right for Iggy, and I didn't like her territorial-ness. Dang, I hate having to use that suffix.

"They're in the basement," she gasped out. "Damn it, Max, will you get this door off of me?" she finally shouted. I rolled my eyes as I lifted the door off her. Humans are so weak. Not that I think I'm better or anything, but come on. Even Superman's gotta feel good about himself sometimes, guys. She looked like she wanted to say something more, but when she lifted her head again, I was already gone.

I flew down flights and flights of stairs. I ran down endless hallways, the others just barely keeping up with me. It's not like I had any other family, anywhere else to go. After we had lost everything when the Erasers had finally found us in the mountains, I had no one but the flock. Without my mom and Ella, I was back to staying in trees, the ground, subway tunnels, beaches, not even the occasional hotel. I wouldn't ever get breaks, I wouldn't ever get to come home to them and relax for a few days again.

As I was searching the back corner of the basement, I noticed a hatch that opened and slanted downward. I sighed. "Hey guys, I don't know where this leads, but I don't think it's the twisty slide," I moaned. Fang put his hand on my shoulder. It said, this is to save your family. I'm right behind you.

Thanks a lot, Fang.

Nudge looked down the dark hole. It was barely large enough to hold me on my hands and knees. She shivered theatrically. "I'm really claustrophobic," she said easily. "I-I think I'll just stay up here." She looked to Iggy hopefully, but he only glared down at her. After a while, he just stared straight ahead in determination. "Then you can stare up here, Nudge," he said quietly. He was the first one to jump down the dark hole.

I'd tell her I was sorry, but I wasn't. I knew this was wrong, Nudge and Iggy, Iggy and Nudge. "Liar," I hissed at her. "You aren't really 13, Nudge. You're anything but 13. You lied to me so easily, Nudge, and you lied to Iggy, and you're willing to risk Ella. You should be ashamed." Angel and Gazzy looked up at her with wide eyes, and Fang looked disgusted with her. That had never happened before.

I stepped into the hole and slid down, and Fang, Angel, and Gazzy followed after me, leaving Nudge all alone. We didn't look back. When we slid down, we noticed that this was a single room, a very small rectangular one. Ella and Dr. Martinez had actually been walled up, and, luckily, it hadn't been long enough for them to start losing weight or anything. But man, did they look terrible.

What was the strangest, and perhaps the sweetest thing I have ever seen was Iggy pressed up against Ella, finally kissing her, and she was finally kissing him back. I sat at the end of the chute, watching it for a moment, 'cause it was really cute. I was trapping Fang, Gazzy and Angel inside, but I didn't care. They broke apart after what seemed an eternity, and her eyes shone despite the bedraggled looks of her hair and clothing. "I'm glad you came," she whispered.

She really was in love with him. He really was in love with her.

"Um, _suffocating _here!" shouted Gazzy, and Ella and Iggy jumped a mile apart as Fang, Gazzy and Angel crawled out. "I'm grimy, disgusted, irritated, and a little surprised," admitted Angel, "so let's just get out of here!" That was the best idea I'd heard all day. This was actually kind of creepy, but Angel's eyes were focusing hard, melting the chains with her new superpower. Blasting out the wall with the same power –can that kid actually blow stuff up?-, she had cleared a way out without us having to find one.

"Let's go without Nudge," she glared. "I'm sure she can find her own way out. Maybe she can sweet-talk a guy who works here, or lie her way out," she said angrily. "Anyhow, we don't need her. If she wants to, she can come back." Iggy shrugged his shoulders lightly. "Fine by me," he said, a little too harshly.

"Something wrong with Nudge, Iggy?" asked Ella nervously. She knew what had been going on with them. Iggy shook his head tensely. "Let's just go…Fang, you carry Ella's mom. She won't wake up."

For some reason that really stung. Like, she wasn't really my mom too? I was her fake daughter? I strode on ahead of Iggy. "Let's just get going," I said briskly. "Fang, if you drop her, you're dead," I threatened. "We just have to get home," I almost snarled at Iggy. Ella's mom, my foot.

Iggy closed his eyes and sighed. "Max, I know someone forgot to take their happy pills today-" he began, but I cut him off. "Enough jokes. My mom is hurt and Nudge is gone and nothing is going to be right until we get home," I snapped. I brushed past him with ease and authority. Calm, cool. Pretend you don't have feelings, let Iggy think that, Max.

Fang didn't seem to be affected by any of this, so he peered out the large, gaping hole in the side of the room and looked around. Rows and rows of cars, surrounded by a dungeon of cement slumping down for endless levels, _this_ is the beauty of urban America, kids. He evaluated it for some time, then spread his wisdom upon us. "It's a parking garage," he said finally.

"No shit, Sherlock," I almost spat.

He rolled his eyes but kept his even tone. "Follow my logic here, Max. Parking garages have cars..."

I got there before he did. "No," I replied.

"But we could get there fa-"

"No."

"I know how to dri-"

"No."

"You and the others could just relax while I get us ho-"

"I. Said. No."

"That's it, Max," he said, picked me up, and slung me over his shoulder. I couldn't just do this with dignity, could I? "Fang, let me down, let me down! We are not riding in that stinking car, Fang, you're going to kill us!" I shrieked. "It's way too dangerous, we have my mom in the car, we don't even know how to start it, you'll crash us into another car or something, Fang, Fang!"

He didn't put me down, or even flinch, really. I was much too afraid to kick him or punch him or anything, even if he was forcing us into a car so he could play road rage guy, I was still in love with him. So you would have done the same thing.

…I think.

* * *

"Fang? How fast are we going?" I asked tensely. I knew it was fast enough for us all to be pressed against our seats, and fast enough to be on the Autobahn for sure. Fang took his eyes off the road and looked back at us. "Why so nervous?" he asked. "I'm driving, aren't I?"

"Fang, watch the road!" we all screeched. Iggy had his fists clenched against Ella and the car door, Ella was pale as a ghost, and Angel was holding Gazzy tight, so, if they died today, she would at least have hugged her brother once more. He looked back at the road just in time to swerve back to the road and out of the way of a particularly large semi. Dodging cars and speeding way over the limit, knowing we had Angel to control the minds of the cops, Fang was obviously having a great time almost killing us and giving me a heart attack.

"Chill, you guys!" Fang said lightly. "It's gonna be fine."

Angel's eyes widened. "Total," she whispered.

"Hmm, what was that, Angel?" Fang asked distractedly as he continued to maneuver his way around various cars and trucks. Geez, how immature. This wasn't a video game. But, you know. We're only fourteen. So I suppose this was kind of new.

"Where is Total?" Angel's voice grew panicky. "Max? Do you have him?" she asked hopefully, and I tried to look concerned as I shook my head no. She heard what I was thinking, and glared, but she was still so preoccupied with the damn dog. "Iggy? Gazzy? Fang? Did we leave him at home? Did they have him in that facility?" her voice grew higher and higher. I shot her a look.

"Angel, it's not that I don't care about Total, but as long as we're here, there's nothing we can do about Total. I'm positive that there's nothing that we can do about Total right now. If he's at home, that's great. If he's not, I don't know where he is." I had to give it to her straight. She had handled worse things than this, especially when she had only had Total for a few months. She knew the underlying meaning in my words. _If for some reason, Angel, you don't get Total back, you'll live. _

What reason would they have for taking Total? He wasn't especially different or anything, and there would really be no point in studying him. Even crackheads like they had at the school knew that. I comforted Angel with all of these thoughts, and she finally shut up, leaned back, and fell asleep, using Gazzy for a pillow. Looking in the backseat, the adoring yet annoyed look on Iggy's face as he looked down on Ella showed a multitude of emotions.

Using the Max-ish ability I have, I read his face like a book. I knew he really loved Ella, and he was happy that they had found her and that he was free of Nudge, free to care about Ella. I was also a little disturbed, because he had that teen boy perve look on his face that suggested if he wasn't in the backseat of an SUV with two children, Fang and I, he would love nothing more than to fulfill his wishes by having a hot-and-heavy makeout session with my half-sister, a thirteen-year-old. I shivered quietly.

I could also tell that he missed Nudge a lot, and that he felt so betrayed by Nudge, who had lied to him. She had lied about her age, of this I was fairly certain, and she had risked Ella, whom he also loved. I had never seen Nudge step up and become a world-class bitch, but apparently she had that ability, and it frightened me about her.

Would things end up being alright? Did we have a chance of destroying the School once and for all? Would this turn into an all-out war with the School? I wanted to be done with it. Everyone thinks I'm this hard-core kind of person, but it's not like I go looking for trouble or a fight. I just deal with it when it does. I needed a home. A real home. But one with no humans, just me and the flock. The E-shaped house was gone. It had been destroyed by Erasers. After Iggy and Gazzy's fight with them, it was unusable now.

And Fang…what was Fang to me? I knew that he loved me now, and I loved him, but what was I to him? Was I his girlfriend? Was he my boyfriend? I had thought impossible thoughts about Fang and me, me and Fang. Would we live to be older? Could I end up with Fang forever? I looked over at him playing with the steering wheel, and I knew he was a huge dark, silent, infuriating, exhausting dork. But I was still in love with him.

As we pulled into Dr. M's drive, I noticed we hadn't been as far away as I had previously thought. I flew out of the car with the rest of the flock, and breathed a breath of pure fresh air. Angel was the only one who didn't stay and enjoy the calmness of the neighborhood, and the peace of the sunlight. She ran to the front door and yanked it open, hollering, "Total!". She returned a few moments later, carrying a very unconscious Total in her arm. "He's dead!" she cried over dramatically.

"He's unconscious," I grimaced. "Lack of food and water does that to people. Go in and get him some water," I told her, and followed her inside. Angel was just setting the water bowl down for him. I evaluated the unconscious Total. I took the bowl of water from her. "Now we let him drink the water, right?" she asked. "Hey!" she cried as I poured the water, all of it, onto a very startled Total's head.

Sputtering, he looked up at us. "Food," he moaned theatrically. "I can't make it much longer." I handed him a can of that canned meaty dog food crap, which he snarfed down hungrily. "Another," he begged, and I got him another and some water, which were gone all too quickly. "Thank you, Max," he sniffed. "It's good to know you care." I rolled my eyes.

"She's such a giver," sand Fang from the doorway.

"Shut up, Fang," I fired back as I got up and grabbed a cookie from the pantry. I walked down the hall and into the bathroom to brush my teeth for the first time in 5 days. When I walked out of the bathroom, Fang was there waiting for me. He caught me in a hug, then pulled me closer and kissed my lips. I was mildly surprised, but in a very, very good way. A good I've-been-waiting-five-days-just-to-kiss-you make-up-for-lost-time kind of way.

I pulled him closer and we crashed back into the bathroom, Fang kicking the door shut behind us. My fingers ran through his hair, and I smiled as I realized we were making out in the bathroom. That was so of his hands cupped my cheek, and the other hand traveled down to rest on my waist. I was pressed up against the door now, and there wasn't enough space in between us to hold a piece of paper. Not that I minded, of course.

I smiled through the kiss.

It was good to be home.

**Who is better for Iggy, Ella or Nudge? More FAX next time? Do you want to know how they deal with Jeb?**

***pokes little green button* **

**~Rachel**


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N- Wow, havn't updated in almost a month. Sorry, you guys, but I made myself promise I wouldn't update over spring break. xD Anyway, here's the next chapter for you. I hope you all like it.**

**Life of a Winged Teenager**

**Chapter 11**

Flipping through a magazine with a cup of hot cocoa, almost ready to go to sleep in my own room, I had convinced myself that everything was okay. Nudge would get over it and come home. Iggy and Ella were happy. We were going to attack the School. It was all going to be okay, and best of all, I had Fang with me, and he was on my side this time. There would be no more Amber or anyone like her. Right then, I had convinced myself that all was perfect with the world.

Oh, shit.

Well, since I said that, you know it wasn't going to be. Ella flew into my room, dragging an all too excited Angel along with her, and they had smiles wider than their faces shining down on me. "What?" I asked, knowing that whatever was coming was not by any stretch of the imagination going to be good.

They pounced on the bed. "Why didn't you _tell _me you made out with Fang in the bathroom?" Ella squealed, bouncing up and down, rocking the bed, for good measure. "I would have told you when Iggy kissed me, only you were standing right there!" she complained. "Honestly, you're my sister, Max! How am I supposed to know things if you don't tell me?"

"Get them from Angel," I glared.

"Oh, I already did, that's how I know about it."

Angel smiled sweetly. "I had to tell her, Max. How could you not tell us?"

"Eh, because when Fang and I are off doing couple-y things, I'm gonna go to a six-year-old and a twelve-year-old for advice, praise or moral support."

"You have a point," Ella nodded solemnly. "Soo, wanna hear about Iggy and me?" she squealed again. "He is such a gentleman and he's so nice to me and he's such a good kisser-"

"That's where I draw the line!" I rolled my eyes. "Get out, and take your Iggy talk with you. I want some sleep!" Shooing them out, wondering why they weren't in bed, I frowned behind my bedroom door. Trust two little-ish girls to ruin my good time with their talk of Iggy –gag- and Fang –gag thanks to them knowing about it-. A knock at my door annoyed me even further. "What did I tell you five minutes ago?" I shrieked as I opened the door. It was Fang.

Well, this is awkward.

You know, I once read in a National Geographic issue that during every awkward silence, a gay baby is born. Just to let you know.

No, not really, you dork.

"Nothing…?" he asked, raising one eyebrow. "Were you, ah, expecting Ella and Angel, by any chance?"

"They attacked you too?" I moaned.

"A little, but it's okay," he reassured me. "I'm sure this is fun for them. Uh, anyway, I just came to say goodnight, but I'm not sure we can, they're probably watching-"

I ignored him and pulled him in for a kiss. Somehow, what began as a simple kiss ended as both of us pressed against each other in the doorway, fingers in each other's hair, hardcore making out. We ignored the giggling coming from Ella's room across the hall, and continued to kiss until Iggy broke the silence. "Well, that was fairly disgusting to listen to," he commented.

"Iggy!" I roared and lunged after him.

* * *

4:30 a.m. The alarm clock on my bedside table was ringing, and I reached over and hit the snooze button. Hard. My eyes widened after what I had interpreted to be thirty seconds, but was really twenty or thirty minutes. I leapt out of bed and sprinted down the hall to the bathroom, careful not to wake the flock up. I grabbed a towel and made it in and out of the shower in a rush, got into some clothes, packed a ton of food in our packs, and did it all without waking the flock up. _Damn, I'm good. _

Teeth brushed? Check. Hair brushed? Check. Room clean? Check. Everything ready to go? I hurried into Fang, Gazzy and Iggy's room to shake them awake, and left them groaning in bed as I rushed to wake Angel up. I rounded the corner and grabbed Total from his doggy bed, and took him outside before we had to leave. I sat and waited in the living room, trying desperately not to chew my nails off before we had to leave. Today was the day we would destroy the School, once and for all.

5:20 a.m. My mom walked into the kitchen groggily and started a pot of coffee, taking out nine mugs, remembering Total. Frowning, she put one back. Nudge wasn't here, and we all felt it. If she were here, we'd be fully awake and ready to kill her at her annoying mouth. Iggy, the last one, stumbled out of the shower, running into Fang as he came out of his bedroom. The rest of us were seated in the kitchen, drinking coffee and fully alert. "Come on!" he shouted. "It should be against the rules to be so awake at this hour!" I just smiled. "We've had it worse," I reminded him.

Ella skipped out of her room bright and perky, as if she already had three cups of coffee. Applying a fresh coat of lip gloss, she batted her eyelashes hopefully. "He's in his room, Ella," I groaned, and she paused. "Oh. Then, never mind." She skipped over to us merrily and had a cup of coffee with us. Like she even needed it. Draining it instantly, her eyes lit up as Iggy entered, and she offered him a cup, smiling at everything he did –gag part 2-. Doctor Martinez sat out plates of bacon, Eggo waffles, and muffins, and Fang, Iggy and Gazzy fell on them like starving children.

5:30 a.m. We were done eating. It wasn't like the rest of us actually got any, it was sitting happily in Fang, Iggy and Gazzy's stomachs. Curse them. I grabbed a granola bar and my backpack. I waited for them expectantly, but they stayed where they were. "What about Nudge?" Angel asked worriedly. "We can't leave, she might come back and not be able to find us!" I rolled my eyes. "Tough for Nudge. It was her decision to get all bitchy, so she can deal. We're leaving, with or without Nudge, to deal with the school." I gave them a glare so cold that they all scrambled to get their bags and be the first out the door.

6:00 a.m. Leading the flock in the sky with my mind bent on a lot of things, primarily the School, I knew this would be a great day in flock history. Let's destroy those bastards that messed with our DNA years ago. Hell, this would be the best damn thing I ever did. I was so ready to destroy the School.

Nudge was gone. I didn't know where she was, and she should have been back by now. It was scaring me. Sure, she had gone on a bitchy rant and had been the lousiest in the world to Iggy, whom she claimed she loved, but she was our Nudge, and she had been there through all of it. After this, we were going to find her, but for now, I had bigger things to worry about. Was it sad that half of what was concerning me was me and Fang?

I mean, there was no problem with me and Fang. After yesterday, it had been smooth sailing with kisses here and there. I was sure we both loved each other, and I wasn't worrying about us at all. But dang, that boy is addictive, if only just to think about. You might think this is all lovey and romantic and cool, and that's fine, we all have our opinions. But really, it was like I was on crack with miniature Fangs swimming around my head.

I didn't realize we had arrived in California until I was the last one in the air as the flock dive-bombed to the earth in front of me and I woke up from my miniature trance. Shaking my head to snap myself out of it, I aimed myself downward so I was freefalling behind the rest. Fanning out my wings after a few moments of wonderful peace, I glided down so gracefully angels would have been jealous. Oh, yeah. I'm so humble.

I checked in my backpack to make sure nothing dangerous had happened. Other than the food and basic necessities that we carried with us, each one of us had four or five of Gazzy's bombs stored with us. If Nudge had been there, we could have brought more, but we had to leave them behind. Fang double-checked his and then looked up at us. "We're hiking there," he confirmed to us like we couldn't speak English. "So they don't see us coming. The school is over a few more of those hills, but it's gigantic. We're going to have to do some serious crap. Max, Angel and I will handle kicking their butts while you guys go in and do whatever you do with the megabomb that'll destroy it from the inside." He might as well have been a college professor, don't you think so?

I unpacked a water bottle and poured the whole thing over my head, letting it run over my face, down my neck and sweat-drenched clothes. This was no picnic we were dealing with here. Determination fixed in my eyes, I made my way up the hill with the rest of them, sure I was going to see the School standing there, mocking us in its usual way, as if laying before us all of the horrible things that had taken place there. Things that were still happening there. Things that we were going to change today.

I was so wrong. The School was horrible enough to look at, believe me. And the sight I was seeing should have made me incredibly happy, but it didn't. Because I didn't see the School. I saw a giant site that looked as if it had been hit by a nuclear bomb. The School was completely gone, and in its place was a huge mess of junk and debris. No one was in sight, and there was literally nothing moving.

Charred and burnt cages were in the midst of everything, and metal littered the ground. Smoke and flames hung in the air, and I knew I was in the midst of the very presence of death. There weren't even bodies, just flames licking the ground, and smog so thick you could hardly see. Rocks around the area were crumbling, on the side of the hill that was black instead of green. I could see the remains of treadmills and mazes and cages and dog crates and science equipment, but no life. Broken glass cracked under our feet as we walked into the mess. What had happened here?

Angel's eyes were swimming with tears. "I…I can't hear anything," she said, her voice breaking. "I know they're all Erasers…but they're all dead, Max." I could feel my own eyes water, and I had a feeling that this wasn't even the worst of it.

It wasn't.

"Split up," I commanded to them, their faces full of shock and fear. "We don't know what happened here, but we're going to find out. Everyone go a separate way." They started to walk away tiredly, but I stopped them. "Oh and…" I paused. "I know it's hard, but…if you see any School worker alive…even in the midst of so much death…kill them," I breathed mercilessly. All I received were dead, solemn nods, the faces of the flock that was resigned to their fate rather than willing to fight.

And so we went our separate ways. I walked into the center of what used to be the School, still not seeing anything through the intense fog. I had the sudden urge to call my mom and say goodbye to her. I shook my head at the terrible thought. What could happen? Would the dead come back to attack me? I tried to laugh my mental joke, but it sounded like I was choking on broken glass.

The fog was clearing. This had been recent. I grabbed a sheet of metal, probably from the top of a cage, and started fanning the air. The smoke cleared from around me enough for me to see perhaps fifteen feet away with my enhanced vision, but what I saw was unbelievable.

In the very center of the remains, Nudge was on her knees with her wings partially fanned out. Dark red blood ran down the tip of her wings and collected in a pool by her feet. Her straightened dark hair covered her face completely, her eyes to the ground. In the dim light, she looked almost scary, and instead of running to her with open arms and tears in my eyes, telling her it was all okay, I backed away slowly.

She got to her feet and rose up eerily, eyes still downcast. She spread her wings out completely, and stood still for a few minutes. Looking up at me suddenly, I almost screamed when I saw her eyes, like they were going to pierce me through the heart if I moved. Red as the blood stained on her wings and so wide, there was something completely paralyzing about them. Finally I got the courage to scream, and the flock came running to the sound of my voice.

They stopped dead in their tracks as they saw her, and a snarl made its way through her lips as they showed fear. From what it looked like to me, the girl was completely possessed. Iggy took a step forward, and for a moment, her eyes became dark brown again and overflowing with tears, but when she blinked again, it was gone, the evil blood-red eyes in its place, staring us down menacingly.

"Max," she said in her normal voice, but it was laced with the smallest hint of a threat, which, let's face it, I would know for a reason. "You shouldn't have come, you guys," she smiled wickedly and raised an eyebrow. "Now you're all dead."

"Guess again," I snarled at her. Whatever she once was, she wasn't Nudge anymore. "Max, don't," Gazzy called. "Nudge is still in there somewhere!" I nodded. I couldn't kill her, no matter how much I was itching to for making us worry about her, and then this crap she was pulling on us. No, I wouldn't kill her.

"I'll take you on first," she smiled that evil smile at me, and before I knew it, she had lunged at me and knocked me to the ground with all her might and was now squishing me with all the strength she could gather. The evil glint in her eyes remained. _God damnit,_ I thought as the blood trickled down my mouth. I brought my knee up to her stomach so hard that she groaned and fell off of me, and I seized the opportunity to grab her by the shirt and pin her where she lay.

With a wild cry, she threw me off her with so much force that I went flying into the air, just lucky enough to catch myself with my wings and hover there. "Maximum Ride," she proclaimed from where she stood on the ground, "You're done!" And with that, she took to the sky with me, and circled around me menacingly. I saw Fang down below me spread his wings, but I glanced at him, begging him with my eyes to stay where he was. If this was how it was, Nudge was the one who was done.

He bit back a groan of frustration as he continued to watch us circle one another, unable to do anything but watch and hope that I wouldn't get hurt, and at the same time, that I wouldn't hurt Nudge. One of us had to make the first move, and we didn't know who it would be just yet. I think I knew, though. With one quick motion, I lunged at her in mid-air, only to crash past her and catch myself a few feet below the ground to duck back around and into the air. She had nimbly moved to the side just in time to avoid me; she was too damn fast when she was possessed.

I wiped the sweaty hair away from my forehead and glared at her. This would be done soon. I couldn't do anything but take the beatings from her and try to avoid them. If I killed her, I killed Nudge, and I couldn't live with that. I knew Iggy couldn't live with that either. Despite how "happy" Ella and he were together, I could see from the look in his eyes that the only thing he was worried about now was Nudge.

Down on the ground, I could hear Fang and Iggy talking. Those bastards. I was up here doing all the work and they were down there having a conversation. "Why is she like that?" asked Iggy worriedly. "What did they do to her?" he asked furiously now. Fang was thinking hard on the matter, apparently, because I heard nothing. Typical. I dodged a quick punch from Nudge and growled furiously to myself. Listening in on their conversation was distracting me.

"She was already here," Angel mused. "So, either the whole place blew up around her, which is unlikely, or she did it all herself…which is still kind of unlikely. Either way, there was a lot of trauma involved, Iggy. That could have brought it on. It could be a new power, or a state of shock."

Fang, Iggy and Gazzy gaped at her like three dead fish while she beamed at them, clearly showing off her broad knowledge on the subject, because we all know that six-year-olds are such great thinkers and psychiatrists. Don't mind me; I'm just up here working my ass off to save yours. I spit out another mouthful of blood as she punched me hard in the face.

"Nudge, don't do this," I warned her. "We all love you and want you back. Snap out of it!" I cried at her, only to be rewarded with another evil death glare. "Silence," she spat at me. "You all betrayed me and left me for that rat Ella. I was your family!" she shrieked, and then launched herself at me once again, this time eyes narrowed, set on killing me. Pain and rage were prominent in her red eyes, and I braced myself for her next attack as I flew to the side again.

But the next attack never came. One second she was enraged, clearly intent on killing me once and for all, and the next her eyes had turned black, and she went limp. And, by limp, I mean, _all_ of her went limp. Including her wings. As in, the wings that were holding her up, three hundred feet in the air. She dropped like a rock, right in front of me.

"No!" I cried out, and dived down to save her, caught so off guard there was no way I could catch up to her. I didn't have to. Iggy was already there, cradling her in his arms as the chocolate brown came back into her eyes. The look of pure evil was gone. In its place was the Nudge that we had all known. When she was strong enough to stand up, she did, and she turned to face me.

"I did it," she said. "I don't know how, but I did it. It didn't feel like me. It didn't feel like me when I was attacking you, and I couldn't make myself stop. To be honest, I didn't want to stop. What you guys did was terrible, but I guess it would have been worse if you hadn't saved Ella," she admitted. "One more thing, you guys, I never lied to you. I really am thirteen years old, and I really was in love with Iggy. B-but I'm okay now."

"I…I'm sorry I accused you of lying, Nudge," I said stiffly, knowing that she was lying about not loving Iggy. I rolled my eyes. "But why, why, why do you guys keep getting powers that involve you getting possessed?!"

Nudge and Angel smiled sheepishly. "I'm not sure I'll ever do it again," Nudge admitted. "I'm not sure how…and if I was sure, I wouldn't know how to control it, or how to not hurt you again," she added, seeing the bruises and scrapes on my face and arms. "I'm so sorry, Max." She nodded awkwardly and flew up out of the smoke.

"Nudge, wait," Iggy called. "Can I talk to you?" There was hope in his eyes.

"We should get back home," Nudge answered bitterly, and flew off in the general direction.

I looked around as Gazzy, Angel and Iggy glanced after Nudge with emotion stamped on their faces as plain as day, but I didn't know where Fang had gone. I backed up a few more steps and further into the mist, away from the others. I felt slim arms around my waist as I turned around to see Fang become visible again. "Hey," he said simply.

"Hardly the place," I breathed before he pulled me around into a kiss. Yup, kissing after a huge battle with your heartbroken sister in a destroyed lot that used to be a prison. The most romantic three seconds of my life. Yeah, three seconds. That's how long it took them to figure out that we were no longer there.

We heard them, no matter how far away they were. "Where do you suppose they went?" asked Angel sweetly, trying to spare some of my dignity, but not really succeeding thanks to Iggy's brilliant mind.

"I'll go look for them!" said a blissfully unaware Gazzy as he marched off in the wrong direction.

"No Gazzy wait!" hollered Iggy after him. "There are some things an eight-year-old should never see! This is why you knock when you go into your parents' room – Gazzy? Gazzy!"

Gazzy stopped. "Max and Fang are doing _that_ somewhere in the fog?" he asked, bewildered. "I mean, I never thought Max was _that_ kind of person, what with all her calling us sexist pigs and everything…"

"We are not doing it in the fog!" I shrieked as I stomped out into plain sight. I heaved a great sigh. "Moment gone."

"A-are you sure?" asked Fang. "Because I kind of didn't mind continuing, even if they were talking about us…um…" I raised an evil eyebrow at him.

"Sexist pig!" the whole world probably heard me bellow as I dragged them all into the air.

**Eh, I don't have much to say here. Just, thanks for reading I guess. Review :P**

**~Rachel**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N - Woot, another chapter for you guys x3 I finally got the time to read Fang, I'm probably the last one that did. After reading it, I'm so glad I started this story after book 3, or else I would shoot myself in the foot trying to figure out what Fang's "mission" or what he's "set out to accomplish" is. xD**

**Life of a Winged Teenager **

**Chapter 12**

When I walked into the living room after a cold shower and a change of clothes, as usual, I thought that nothing could be better. New clothes and a day off is a luxury for us, but I know that we can never quit. I wasn't exactly born into an easy life, if you know what I mean. It's a responsibility –and personal hobby- of mine, saving the world. So I shouldn't have been surprised that everyone was worried, knowing something that I didn't.

Of course I noticed Iggy and Ella on one end of the couch, and Nudge on the exact opposite, her face a mask of worry and pain, but I knew she was secretly thinking of Iggy on the other end of the couch, Ella's arms around him, ignoring him and oblivious to his obvious feelings for her.

But I also noticed everyone, and I mean everyone, packed into that small couch, staring at the TV with worried expressions and clenched fists, and what appeared to be Fox News on. They were expressions I'd seen so much and known so well in the last fourteen years, you can imagine. That didn't make it any easier to see them on the faces of my family.

"What's going on?" I asked, and was immediately shushed by the rest of them, and Fang motioned for me to sit on his lap with a brief smirk of a smile. Um, no way. I sat on the floor in front of him quickly and fixed my eyes on the TV. As expected, it was about us.

The footage in front of us was from a bird's-eye view of the School, shot only this morning before I had ever gotten up. Or, I guess, what used to be the School. All it showed was the junk and crap that Nudge had gone ballistic and destroyed, and the charred remains of it all.

"What's so bad about this?" I asked once it got to a commercial. "They were bound to find out anyway. I don't get it."

"Max, they know about the experiments, everything. They had actual scientists out there looking for stuff, why someone could have destroyed it. They found out it was the only place in the entire world that was left that did that illegal experiment stuff," Angle explained. "So, basically, one half of the problem is over. Because Nudge took care of the School, all we have to worry about is stopping pollution, global warming, and large corporations."

"That's a good thing," I gave an exasperated sigh. "I mean, what's with all your worried expressions? Your watching the TV like it's going to explode? The aura that you're not telling me all that you should be telling me? I'm your leader, for the love of sweet Jesus-"

"They know about you now," Iggy cut in, "and they know you've made a plan to 'save the world'. This tips them off –the large corporations- that you're out to get them just so you can stop 'global warming', which some people don't even believe in. Some people aren't happy about this, Max. If you thought the people were on your side, think again."

"You're saying that they think I'm a lunatic? That the world won't believe me?" My voice was steel, but they managed to nod.

"It gets worse," Gazzy piped up. "On other channels, everyone knows about you, about us, about the flock. They don't know where we are, but they're talking about us. Everywhere, they're calling you 'Mad Max' and saying you don't know what the heck you're talking about. We don't know how you'll save the world like this, Max."

"In short, you have to prove to them that you're not crazy and that you can save them, and that the world needs to be saved," Fang explained quietly.

"Looks like we have some work ahead of us," I groaned.

"There's a meeting set up already for you, and a conference at a school somewhere around here to convince teachers, parents and average students that you can save the world, end pollution, global warming, and that you need help destroying large corporations," Dr. M said in a small voice.

"Um, if you don't mind, when is this meeting?" I groaned as I looked at my mom for an answer.

"Later today," she grimaced.

Sometimes, a life of a winged teenager really sucks.

* * *

I had to find a way for this all to be better. Half a day since the terrible news and I have no good ideas? I must be an alien Max and the real one is off somewhere in the land of sarcasm. If I didn't have a plan or any idea whatsoever, I needed to step up my game. By now, Zac Efron could have beaten me at the whole leadership thing.

I'd been pacing around the house for hours, and everyone had gone off to get a life but me. Part of me was angry at them for not helping me think of something, and part of me was screaming at myself for not being able to forget, not being able to just be a kid and hang out with them and spend time with Fang under a palm tree in Hawaii.

I didn't know where they all were. Iggy and Gazzy were somewhere blowing up the city, Angel was off burning something to a crisp with her relatively new power and Fang was somewhere blogging desperately trying to convince the world that "Mad Max" was perfectly sane. Well, either that or playing internet solitaire with a can of Coke and his Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition magazine that he didn't know I knew he had.

But where were Nudge and Ella? I would have to find one or the other. They had been avoiding each other so much since all this Iggy crap happened, and even though Nudge proved to me that she wasn't lying, she hadn't been able to get Iggy back. I didn't particularly resent this, because if they were together, Gazzy and Angel would be the only ones that would be uncomfortable when the rest of us were making out.

I still cared about Nudge, and I still cared about Ella, no matter what happened between them and Iggy, and I wanted them to help me during this time of crisis. I'd be damned if I was going to be Mad Max forever. And I was furious at them for being all about themselves and Iggy when my life as the leader would fall apart if they'd keep this up much longer. No, I was going to find those little idiots and fling them against the nearest wall before I ripped my hair out.

Well, holy Jesus monkey bladder, I wasn't exactly prepared to walk into Nudge's room and see them both flinging themselves against the wall _and_ ripping each other's hair out.

"You leave Iggy alone!" screamed Ella. "You had your chance with him and you blew it so freaking move on, you obsessive ex!" And she kicked Nudge into the wall. Maybe I should have mentioned to Nudge at some point that Ella had taken karate lessons as a kid. Oops.

"We never officially broke up, you stupid manstealer! You just took him without even thinking about how we were going out!" And she proceeded to grab Ella's hair in a death grip while kicking her in the stomach.

"You hurt him and he didn't have to take that!" Ella seethed, doubled over in pain, and she slap chopped Nudge in the chest so hard that Nudge fell over in pain and screamed.

"That hurt, you little bitch!"

"Oh, whatever, it's not like you have anything there to work with. If Iggy wanted to feel someone like you up, he could always go for Gazzy!"

Ouch.

"Don't mind me, I just walked in on your little catfight," I said from the doorway.

Ella immediately jumped off of Nudge and Nudge hopped up and straightened her shirt, like I would forget what I just saw if they looked tidy and appropriate. "Look you guys, I can't deal with your little fights anymore. Not to mention that you're both friends, so forget it. Iggy's a great guy, but no guy's that great. Now quit fighting before I smash your heads together."

"Okay what the heck, Max, you don't even get anything because you and Fang are all loving each other and everything but some of us don't even have a boyfriend and I've liked Iggy ever since I met him almost a year ago and anyway Nudge is too young for him she's only eleven!"

She said it all in one breath. Either she's really worked up or she should try out for the swim team or the school choir. You know, I take that back. I once heard her singing in the shower, not pretty.

Nudge reeled on her. "I'm thirteen you little twit, Max even believes me! And you're only twelve so technically I'm better for Iggy then you are because he needs someone who can understand him and I have wings too, and I'll always be there for him!"

The place got quiet as we both listened to Nudge.

"You guys don't get it. I'm really in love with him. Do you want me to scream it? That I'm in love with Iggy? He's what I think about, what keeps me going? The days we spent together were the best of my life, and the only thing you guys, my closest friends, can do is make it harder for me to be with him!" She fell to the floor on her knees with her head down and sobbed.

Until then, I had never realized just how strongly she had felt about Iggy. I realized that she might have had a crush, or thought he was cute, or wanted to be there for him, but now I got the distinct strong impression that she felt about Iggy the way I did about Fang, about never wanting to lose him and wanting to be with him forever, to feel heartbroken should he ever die. I understood more now, and I looked at Ella with steel eyes.

"You are my sister," I said evenly, "but no one understands the flock like the flock. I know that Iggy still loves Nudge. Ella, I need you to understand, and let him go. You've known him for a few months, but Nudge has known him for a lifetime. She loves him. Please, Ella. Please."

She thought on it for a moment. In my most inner thoughts I was praying harder than ever that she would let her inner kindness out just enough to show Nudge some compassion, and I knew Nudge was thinking the same thing. Ella's face grew hard, and I knew we were doomed. "Iggy loves me," she hissed. "And I love him. He'll side with me once I tell him what bitches you are. You think you'll win, but you'll see." And with that, she ran from the room.

Nudge and I looked at each other helplessly. All hell was about to break loose. Now, either you're thinking, noooooooo Max don't let Lady Bitchness win, or, fuck you, Max, Ella's a great kid and she's better for Iggy, in which case I'd rip off your arms and slap you around a few times with them if I wasn't busy telling the damn story. Either way, we had a problem now.

* * *

I hobbled through the house and slammed into wall after wall, yanking the stupid high heel farther onto my foot while nearly tripping over a hunched over Iggy with the same problem. Well, he wasn't exactly in high heels, but he was fixing his "dress shoes" too. So far, so great with the whole thing.

I couldn't believe how different Iggy looked. My mom had rented him a white tuxedo anyway to match his hair, but still, I was looking at the clean-cut version of Iggy that looked positively dashing. At least the dress clothes were going well with him. I smoothed my summer dress anxiously, hoping that I looked alright, or at least decent, in the white halter top that stopped a few inches above my knees.

My blonde hair flowed over my shoulders in thin, wavy strands that had been fixed in the bathroom only a few minutes ago. Real earrings, necklaces and bracelets hung on me, and I stood silently, watching the hell that was running through the house. Surprisingly, I was one of the lucky ones who had gotten ready early.

I caught my mom by the arm as she ran past with Angel's shoes in her hand, Angel screaming for them on the other end of the house. "Remind me again why we have to dress up," I gave an exasperated sigh. "It's only a press conference and a meeting at some random school where we try to convince kids that I'm not crazy."

She rolled her eyes. "Max, we all have to make the best impression we can. These people need someone to look up to, and we need to make you seem like heroes, even if this isn't the real you. I know that it's hard for you, but remember to have a somewhat good time. Not to mention that there'll be a dance in the school gym and the garden outside once we're done, if all goes well."

In the end, it was the three guys who were sitting on the couch in their new tuxedoes, looking positively splendid. I had never been so proud of them, ironically, than when they were sitting there, looking pissed as ever at those tuxes, but still willing to do it for the same of my wanting to look sane. Fang didn't look too out of character, the tuxedo was black, after all, but he looked so much more handsome, and I almost believed he was the prince and I was the princess.

Yeah, right.

Gazzy looked so young and small in what he was wearing, like one of those little ring-bearers at the weddings in movies, only just a little older. The suit was still too big for him, and so were the shoes, that was what made it look so adorable. My mom couldn't get enough of it, and snapped picture after picture. At least the guys tried to pretend they weren't so annoyed and tried to crack a smile, everyone except Fang, who saved his smiles especially for me.

Angel looked more like me than she looked like Gazzy that day. With a white dress to match mine, white sandals and her hair waving around her shoulders, she could have been my sister instead of Gazzy's. That day, she really looked like an Angel.

Nudge was the only one that wore black, a flowing dress that stopped at her knees with black flats and spaghetti straps. Her earrings, necklace and bracelets were all silvery and dangling, her hair straightened and then curled in ringlets that framed her face and shoulders. It almost looked like we were all going to a prom or something, and I remembered that if all went well, we could be at that school with the kids at their school dance. It was really for high school kids, but Nudge, Gazzy and Angel were welcome to come too, they had said.

"Oh, and I'm not coming," my mother told us as she shoved us out the door to a white limousine waiting there for us. "You're all on your own, but so are you in saving the world. You have to do this. You all have to prove to them that you're sane, and that you can save this world, as long as they'll accept it. I love you all and I want to help you, but this is really something you have to do on your own."

Much to Fang's embarrassment, she gave them all hugs, and looked at me last. "Make them believe you," she told me, and closed the door behind us. I took a deep breath, and grabbed Fang's hand on one side, and Iggy's hand on the other. We all locked fingers as we marched toward the limousine with determined expressions on their faces.

I had to prove that I could save the world. I had come so far, I couldn't lose it to these people who wouldn't believe me. The voice, Jeb, all the adults of the world had told me that it was my job to save it, that it was my destiny. I never wanted it to be my destiny, but now it was. I wouldn't rest until I had accomplished that, as much as I wished sometimes that I could.

I wanted to save the world.

* * *

The auditorium we had filed into only moments before was much too large, and utterly packed. I could tell that all of the children, all of their parents, and people not even from the school had come to see what "Mad Max" had to say. I felt nervous in my stomach, the same way I had felt when Fang had first kissed me, the feeling of not knowing what was going to happen, whether or not I would be accepted. Everything I was and planned to do depended on this.

I had been thinking in the ride in the limousine what I was going to do once I got here, and now I really was standing on the stage, waiting for everyone to get in so that I could give a speech to them that they would surely never forget. While the others were rolling down the window or opening the sun roof or messing around with the icebox or checking out the fine leather interior, I had been thinking of what to say.

And so far, I had no idea. Not one miserable idea.

It was almost time. The others were sitting right behind me on five chairs that they had put on the stage, and I was at the podium onstage with the microphone on it. I felt so many eyes staring up at me, demanding answers. I hoped that I could give the good ones, the ones that they wanted to hear, the ones that would earn their respect and trust.

Still, I was trying to look confident. Despite my heart pounding in my chest and wanting to run away, I stood and stared them down with authority. I had handled so much worse than this. I had taken out Erasers like it was no problem, I had escaped a prison in Europe, and I had made some lives a living hell, which Jeb would know all about. Speaking of which, I would deal with him later.

I could do this, I chanted silently. I could do this.

I could see that it wasn't going anywhere. Everyone appeared to be in their seats, but apart from several that were staring at me like a zoo animal, they were all chattering, talking loudly and muttering –no doubt, about me- under their breaths. Covering the microphone with one hand, I said quietly, "Hey, can everyone listen, please…" but they just kept on, not hearing me. I looked back at the flock and rolled my eyes.

Still keeping my hand over the microphone, I raised my voice a little. "Um, can you all be quiet? Isn't this what you came here for?" I almost yelled, my irritation growing as they kept talking amongst themselves. I gave an exasperated sigh and yelled out louder, "Can anyone freaking here me? Come on, people, I haven't got all day!"

And they kept on, completely ignoring me. That was it. That was the straw that broke the camel's back. "Shut up!" I screamed at them, throwing my hands up at the same time and uncovering the microphone.

Well, shit.

I got what I wanted, I mean, they all looked up at me. But I just made the first bad impression of the night, thanks to my impatience. Fang cleared his throat. "What she means is, she's trying to speed things up so you kids can go to your stupid dance," he clarified. I glared back at him, and he shrugged.

"What he said," I said hastily, and stammered through an apology. So far, things weren't looking good for me. They probably already thought I was a total lunatic, and I lowered my head, ready to run out of here, to hell with all of this, and good riddance to saving the world. I didn't really need any of this anyway.

Wrong. I needed to stay, because I had something to prove. I looked up at all of them. "You all came to hear some great explanation of why I need to save the world, why I said what I said, and why I'm not crazy when I say that there really was a place that experimented on humans like me." With the slits in my dress, and the slits in all of the flock's clothes, all our wings were fanned out as proof.

The whole room was quiet now that I had their attention. "You all are ready to revolt at the people who experiment on animals like dogs for silly things like makeup. The people that caused our wings, they experimented on human lives, and that can't change. The reason we shrink away at lab coats, why we can't go to a normal doctor's office, why we hate scientists more than you all hate terrorists, is because of what happened there."

I closed my eyes for a few minutes and took a deep breath. "You can't pretend it's not real. It really did happen, and the wings behind me aren't just made with popsicle sticks and glitter. Our lives are hell every day, and do you wanna know something funny? _We're _the lucky ones! Before my friend destroyed that lab, they were mutating humans with species that died the very next day. It was a place of death, and it's a good thing that it's destroyed."

You could have heard a pin drop in that place. "Because of our abilities, it's our job to save the world, or those corporations will be controlling you and your family from right under your nose. Believe me, it's already happened. They've got you to believe that it isn't a big deal. But it is.

"Sea levels are rising and animals are finding new homes. We'll lose a lot of land soon because of pollution that's destroying our ozone layer and causing more health problems than ever. Don't think that I wasn't like you. I still don't know how serious it is, but I do know that it couldn't hurt to just try.

"Do something important! Do you want to stand there while it happens, or do you wanna help us? If normal people like you can tell them no and protest against it, or just do those stupid things that adults tell you to, like to not use as much fuel, electricity and water, couldn't you make a difference just by doing those things? We're only six people, no matter how super we seem. Half of this is up to you!"

I took a drink of water nervously. "Prevent the large corporations from doing things like this. Don't burn fossil fuels, and for God's sake, plant a tree! Don't tell me you can't do anything, the flock needs you to do something, because we can't do this without you? Listen, it's your world, and it's my world, and it's everyone else's world. Do you want to save it? I think it's pretty damn great."

Fang came up and put a hand on my shoulder. "What we're saying is, it's all up to you. If you help us, that'd be really cool with us and really cool for the world. We can't just blow up whatever we want like terrorists. We need your help, and the choices are yours."

Nudge stood up in her chair. "We're just kids, we can't do it all."

Iggy took Nudge's hand in his. "Tell your friends, get anyone you know to help us. Even if we're the ones in the news, you guys are what we owe it to."

Gazzy pumped his fist in the air. "Let's kick those corporations' butts!"

Angel smiled evilly. "I could always _make _you agree with us." The entire audience of kids laughed at this.

"Stand up if you're with us!" I hollered into the audience, a smile on my face. Not one of them stayed sitting as they all rose to their feat and answered me with a thunderous applause. I stood, beaming at Fang and the others. They had really helped me to make my point. I had officially earned their respect. You know, I might even do this at other schools.

So, what had I been worried for?

**I'd just like to take a moment to say that none of my personal views about global warming or pollution or anything are expressed in here. I don't want any major war on my reviews of either side, so I'm just taking a step back. xD **

**Anyway, hope you liked it anyway. Don't you worry, there'll be more FAX next chapter, I just couldn't put it in this one very well. Remember to review all the same ^_^ **

**~Rachel**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N-Yaaaaaaay another chapter applause applause WOOT! *ahem* sorry. Anyway. Remember when Jeb was talking on the phone about the fleshy thing #2? Well guess what? I'm bringing it back. That's right. The flock is not safe for long. Muhuhuwahahaha. **

**Life of a Winged Teenager**

**Chapter 13**

The gym was bigger than the auditorium, and somewhat crappier. The lights were dimmed a little, and music played from speakers on each end of the room. Tables with food and drinks lined the walls, and couples twirled on the floor already, despite the fact that our speech had ended only moments ago.

I think I mentioned that if all went well with the kids, and convincing them that I was perfectly sane, we could attend their prom with them. I didn't know what all we'd do at a prom, and we'd probably only talk to each other. I was actually hoping it'd be good, but I put a bored expression on my face, pretending that I couldn't care less.

I could feel Fang next to me, his silent, watchful eyes taking it all in. I somehow suspected that this would end as I thought it would, with Fang ignoring me and going over to flirt with some other girls or help Iggy set something on fire, despite our…whatever we had going. The point was, I was probably going to be on my own.

Iggy reached inside his tuxedo and felt around. "What the heck are you doing?" I raised an eyebrow. He held up a finger and then removed a bottle of beer from his jacket. "No," I said, realizing what he was doing. "Not here, Ig. These people are here to have fun." But I knew it was useless arguing with him.

"First lesson in going to a prom, Max – never drink out of the punch bowl. That's got to be, like, the oldest lesson. That's why it's the first…anyway, watch." And he poured the whole damn thing in the punch bowl without getting caught, then proceeded to keep the bottle in his jacket.

"Eh, why are we here?" Gazzy asked. "Angel and I are eight and six. We're not even teenagers yet. We're not even old enough to legally be here."

"Legally?" I asked skeptically. "Look, why don't you go help the DJ or something." I gestured to the guy up front, who looked like he was having a hard time trying to figure out the iPod nano on a dock.

"Max, I'm going to the bathroom," Nudge said solemnly and glanced at Iggy pointedly. I nodded at her, and she gave a relieved sigh.

"Oh, good, I'll come with you," Iggy chased after her. "I need to talk to you anyway."

"It's the girl's bathroom, you idiot!" she snapped at him, and stalked away.

When I looked back by my side, Fang was gone. Great. Not only am I at the stupid prom, in the stupid dress, but what's worse, I was actually looking forward to it, to being a girl, to dancing with Fang. And that loser decided to use his stupid little invisibility powers to ditch me? He's dead. Dead, I tell you.

"Fang?" I asked as I walked down the halls endlessly, looking for my dark boyfriend. "Fang! I'll kill you if you're just playing tricks on me!" I exclaimed, and huffed as I realized that he wanted to do this the hard way. I became more lost with each step I took, not remembering the way back. The high school was absolutely huge, larger than the one in Virginia had been.

I had the sudden though that Sam or Lissa would suddenly show up and ruin it between Fang and me. I had the sense that somewhere, Fang was seeing Lissa behind my back, Amber right behind her. Their red hair lured him in like moths to lights.

Which is totally accurate, since if moths touch a bright light, they die, and God knows the horrible things that would happen to Fang if I ever caught him with Lissa or Amber or anything like them.

As I wandered through the trophy and photo parts of the school, all in glass cases, I noticed an old picture of a bunch of kids with nerdy glasses. In the middle, holding a plaque of some sort, was a much younger version of my mother, with nerdy rimmed glasses and a lot of acne. They were all making peace signs at the camera and smiling, and the banner at the top of the picture said, "Science Club".

I smiled at the picture of my mom as a kid. It was hard to not see the resemblance. Of course, she looked totally beautiful now, and back then she was just some nerdy freshman, but I still think that was pretty cool, how she stuck with science all those years, and ended up having me, the first avian-American kid.

My eyes scanned the rest of the picture, and I opened my mouth wide in shock, then my eyes narrowed. In the corner of the picture, smiling a huge, buck-toothed grin, was Jeb, looking positively thrilled to be in the science club. But that meant that they had to have gone to the same school, my mother and Jeb. They had lived in the same area, and had been classmates, and maybe even friends.

What exactly was Jeb's relationship to my mother?

I wandered around aimlessly after giving the picture one last glance, down the dark hallways of the school, getting more than a little freaked out. All the lights were out in this end of the school, apparently, and I kept imagining I was hearing something, or that someone was here, following me, now that I was unarmed. I was on the alert now, far too scared.

_Show up, Fang. Show up. Help me. I'm alone and afraid. _

True, this wasn't THE School, but it was A school, and I was freaked out by the similarities already. True, there were no whitecoats or people trying to kill us, but you can't really blame me, ever since what happened with the Red Haired Wonder and the Red Haired Wonder #2.

I brushed off the pathetic thought as I saw the light once again, and entered the gym. The same people were there, the same kind of music was playing, the same beer in the punch bowl. I snickered quietly as a guy came up and took some, then brought it back to his date, who sniffed it. Realization spreading across her face, she gaped, and then slapped him, muttering, "Pig".

And yet I do nothing to stop it. Some superhero I am. Defending people from the forces of good and Iggy.

I slowly made my way up the bleachers on the side of the gym, brushed some popcorn and water bottles off the back seat next to the wall, and sat down with a sigh. I watch the girls in long and short dresses, the guys in black tuxedos, the music floating around them, and almost wished I could be like them.

I wasn't 'Mad Max' anymore, but my problems weren't solved just by doing that. All these kids that had listened to me a few minutes ago, they were all down on the dance floor, once again obsessed with their average, everyday lives, and more about their prom than saving the world. I should be like that too, but I wasn't.

I saw Angel on the dance floor, putting the DJ into a daze and taking the iPod from his hands as he walked away like a zombie, Gazzy cackling by her side. I thought I was lonely now, but I knew I had Fang. When Angel grew up like me, she would have no one, no one to be with her. Because she could read minds, she would never be equal to whoever she was with. She would always be superior, and alone.

I was so thankful that she couldn't hear me now.

I saw Gazzy, and knew he would never find anyone good enough for him. He was the best little kid I knew, probably the best in the whole world. There wouldn't ever be anyone more good-natured. He was my little trooper, the one that was always happy, but he wouldn't find anyone like that. I started to think that I was actually the lucky one.

Despite how hard I worked, how hard I thought my life was, I was really the lucky one. One of my parents, at least, loved me, and my sister loved me, even if she was being a bitch right now. I had Fang as a boyfriend, and I led them instead of following orders. I made my own rules, and I went where I wanted. Yet once again, I was all alone.

I guess I did have one parent trying to kill me. Jeb, that bastard. I refused to admit that I wanted the love of both my parents. I didn't need anything from Jeb. He was the one going behind our backs, trying to send another one of those fleshy hulks to chase us again. I would never forgive him. I had heard that phone call. Well, I wasn't going to let him get the flock, or me. I'd sooner kill him, and he could join his son.

The sea of teenagers rearranged as the next song came on. "Wake up in the mornin' feeling like P. Diddy," I chanted with the rest of them. I find it really sad that I know that song.

My smile faded as I saw Nudge enter the gym and then reel on Iggy, who was right behind her. I was on the bleachers right above them, but I kept quiet, wanting to hear what was going on. Shoot me, I'm a snoop, but I needed to hear this.

"Get away from me!" she almost shouted at him, tears in her eyes and a murderous look on her face as she spun around. "Stop ruining my life! I want to have fun here, and I'm tired of worrying about you! I can't believe I ever loved you, because you were too busy caring about that little shit to care about me!" she turned away and walked out.

"Nudge!" he shouted, and then turned around, his face to the wall. "Goddamnit!" he roared, punching a whole in the brick wall with his fist. "Shit," I heard him swear quietly as he wiped the blood off his knuckles on the tablecloth of a table. Thankfully, it was read. Wait, why was I worrying about the tablecloth?

I was so busy concentrating on feeling sorry for Iggy –wow, I have a lot of pity tonight- to notice what was in the doorway when Iggy backed away from it, confusion and hatred on his face. I couldn't register it until he asked, coldly, "What are you doing here, Jeb?"

"I need to see Maximum."

"You're not getting your evil clutches on Max, you dirtbag!" Iggy shouted, throwing Jeb against the wall. "We know about your plan to make another one of those things to kill us, you monster!"

"Iggy, it's okay. Send him up here," I called down to Iggy, who had a mortified look on his face."

"How much of that did you see?"

"Enough."

"If you ever hurt her, I'll kill you!" Iggy seethed at Jeb as he released him angrily, stalking out the door after Nudge."

"Max," Jeb said, for once, calling me by the short version of my name as he climbed the bleachers. I realized how much of an old man he'd become, so tired and hurt and unfeeling. That didn't make me forget what he'd done.

"You have five minutes," I glared. "I know what you did. I heard you talking about how you were going to get another fleshy monster to come after us. You've betrayed us over and over again for years, but this is the worst, Jeb. And I'll never trust you again."

"Maximum, listen to me. I had to pretend that I was on the side of Itex and the School. Now that Nudge has destroyed the school, I don't have to. I'm here to desperately apologize and ask your forgiveness first, because I'm so sorry. All along, I only wanted what was best for you. They would have killed me if I hadn't, but I should have sacrificed my own life, rather than let you lead this one."

"You're damn right, there."

"Please just let me get this out. None of you will ever listen to me or trust me, or admit that sometimes people make mistakes, but people can actually change. I would never lie to you again. Have Angel ask you. I am telling the absolute truth when I say that I just want to apologize and tell you how wrong I was. I want you to forgive me."

"Fat chance."

He sighed and put his head in his hands. "You were like my daughter," he whispered, "Even before I knew that you were. Despite being at the School, you were always so happy and bright and you took command of the whole thing and requested to be the leader, knowing that it would be a life of hardship. I loved you all like my own children. You must know this."

"A father wouldn't leave and betray his children."

"Even the best fathers make mistakes. I know, one hundred percent, that I was a no-good, greasy liar, Max. I lied and faked my death, and left you all to worry about me, and I left you to lead them and run from the Erasers while I controlled them all and _turned my own son into one. _I've made so many mistakes, and I'm telling you that I can't go on until I know you forgive me."

"Sucks to be you." I turned around and walked around the back of the bleachers, afraid I would start shouting and the other kids on the bleachers would get freaked out. Jeb followed closely behind me.

"Why do you do that?"

"The sarcasm? Because ever since that institution that _you're working for _kidnapped us, I've had to be hard and deal with sadness that's not crying. I won't allow you the satisfaction of cracking that now. Can't you see that you really hurt us? You left us and changed your son, you bastard, how can you live with yourself? And you show up tonight, the night that's actually supposed to be good."

My voice cracked as I stumbled over the words. "Where were you, and why did you leave us? I was always so lost without you there, I had no idea how to lead those kids when I was so young and Angel got kidnapped by your cohorts. I missed you ever day, and I waited for you to come back, and now, I want to believe you're not lying, but I can't." He leaned forward and caught me in a hug as I sobbed into his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. "And I can't change what I've done. I can't go back, Max. I just want you to be my daughter again. I want to know the others like my children. And I want to help all of you."

"Don't ever leave again," I sniffled, wiping my eyes. It was so damn sappy that I can't help but look back now and roll my eyes at how vulnerable I was. But sometimes, you just need to cry. "Promise me you're telling me the truth. Stay and take care of us, and don't ever leave again."

"I promise," he nodded.

A new song came on, and I recognized it as Justin Bieber's "Baby". Don't ask me how I know. It involves Nudge, an iPod touch, and bad mental pictures.

Jeb held out his hand, and I took it. It's a really good thing Jeb knows how to dance. I think I almost fell at least eleven times. Yeah, I started counting. Don't pretend you've never shared a dance with your dad. Or, at least some people have. If you're a girl. It was really sweet. Twirling and waltzing and other hideous ridiculous things, behind the bleachers.

I hugged him when it was over. "I'll get out of your way," he sighed. "Thanks." And he was gone.

Fang reappeared in front of me, smiling, with a rose in his hand. "That was really nice and sweet and crap," he said as he held out the rose.

"Gee, thanks. A complement and a wilted rose," I said.

"What?" he panicked and looked over the rose.

"Relax, I was just kidding. It's perfect." I leaned in to kiss him as his arms went around me and my fingers ran through his thick black hair. Pressed against each other against the wall, I itched to get closer, but resisted firmly from ripping his jacket off and jumping him.

"I would like to stay like this forever," he whispered against my lips, and I groaned as I realized that it sounded like he was about to end it. "Give me a while longer," I whispered back. He did, and we continued for a few more minutes until he broke apart. I pouted quietly.

"Hold on," he said as he took a box out of his coat. He had a shy, nervous look on his face, which was weird, because Fang's never shy or nervous. It was a relatively small box, no bigger than the palm of my hand. He dropped it in my hands. "Open it."

I almost expected it to be a plastic ring. But when I did open it, it was so much better. "Oh, God, Fang, it's beautiful," I exclaimed as I pulled a silver chain out with a silver fang charm with wings attached to it. He hooked it around my neck and I pulled out a pocket mirror so that I could admire myself, knowing that I would want to.

"So are you," he said, and kissed me again, more fierce and passionate this time. When we broke apart, he smiled and led me out to the floor, unnaturally bright compared to the darkness of the bleachers. Right on cue, a slow song came on and he pulled me closer, his hands on my waist and mine around his neck. It was really simple, not so much dancing, but rather, swaying back and forth to the rhythm of the music in an almost hypnotic way.

All I was thinking about was that I wanted to stay that way forever, there in Fang's arms on the gym floor, among all the other children who were probably having a night one tenth as good as mine had been. A little rough in the beginning, but here now, with Fang, I couldn't help but feel happy.

And for once, Fang was smiling down at me, a really goofy kind of happy grin, one that I've never really seen before, but since it was just us, I guess Fang thought it was okay. Never in a million years would he have grinned that way in front of Iggy.

I'd like to take a moment to thank Nudge and Iggy for _robbing me of my happy moment _and taking their argument on the floor near the door –whoah, that rhymed- right next to Fang and I. It seemed Fang was doing his best to ignore them and I was doing slightly…less than my best. I watched from the corner of my eye.

"I told you to get the hell away from me!" Nudge sobbed. "Stop trying to talk to me! I know you and Ella are together, so just leave me alone! I'm over you, so stop following me!"

He grabbed hold of her wrist and spun her around to face him as she stalked away. "Look, Nudge, I never meant to hurt you like that!"

"Then why did you?" she cried. "Ella even threatened me, Iggy. The bitch said we were never going to be together because you were in love. You just left me for her, and even when my heart is breaking, you can't leave me alone to deal with it. So stay away from me, please," she begged him.

"Nudge, I love you!" he said, and took in her shocked expression before rushing on, "I don't know what I was thinking by hurting you, but you're everything to me. You're smart and funny and beautiful and I love you, Nudge. I wouldn't ever do anything like that to you again, not in a million years."

He took a deep breath. "See, the only thing I need to be happy, is you, Nudge." And she burst into tears. He pulled her into a hug as she sobbed into his chest.

"I missed you so much," she sobbed. "I thought you hated me."

He didn't answer her, only guided her hands up to his shoulders and placed his hands on her waist. Slowly, he leaned down to kiss her as they danced, and Fang and I did the same. Gazzy ran around us, clicking cameras wildly, cackling about a photo album.

The doors to the gym flew open behind us. "Iggy! I'm HERE!" Ella hollered, then stopped short as she saw Iggy and Nudge, making out before her very eyes. "Oh. Hem. Gee," she gaped, then screamed a high-pitched, ear-splitting scream. No one even looked up. "Ugh!" She stamped her foot and ran out of the room.

Gazzy chuckled darkly as he looked at the camera, having just gotten a good shot of Ella shrieking in preppy rage. "And this one goes on the school website!" he said excitedly as he held up the camera for all of us to see.

Angel ran through all of us, whimpering and hiding behind Fang. "Help me!" she shrieked. "The DJ woke out of his trance and he knows I controlled his mind! Now he's gonna get meeeeee!" Iggy grimaced. "You're hiding behind Fang, aren't you?

"Yeah…" said Angel slowly.

"Why hide behind Fang? I'm three inches taller!" Iggy almost shrieked.

"Yeah, but Fang's darker and scarier and more emo. He has an expression like 'dude, back away, cause I'm gonna mess up your face' and you have an expression like 'aw, look at the cute Iggy, I wanna ruffle his hair'," Nudge said.

"What the heck, Nudge?" Gazzy asked. "Well, you take waaaay too much crack. Whatever. Everyone get in here," and he held the camera out in front of him. "On three, say 'we hope a piano falls on Ella'."

"One…"

"Two…"

"Three!"

_"WE HOPE A PIANO FALLS ON ELLA!"_

"I heard that!" she snapped from the hall.

Fang leaned down and kissed me again, one last time for the evening. Well, that wasn't really the end, but I'll leave you there with Fang and I kissing on the gymnasium wall, our pictures getting taken by Gazzy.

**Awww isn't the Fax cute? *squeals* Anyway. I will be starting a new MR story soon. And I just started another one, a MaxXDylan. It's on my profile under 'My Girl'. So, if you want a say in what pairing my next story will center around, vote on my poll, okay? Voting open now until May 1st, when I will announce which pairing won. **

**~Rachel**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N-I told you I'd brink back Incredible Hulk flesh guy, and he will be back. This is a very serious chapter, there will be death and some slightly older kid themes. There'll be lots of typical drama, so forgive me. There's not much humor in this one, and I actually lost the original chapter and had to redo this one, so sorry if it's not really good. As always, a big thanks to reviewers. **

**Life of a Winged Teenager **

**Chapter 14**

Alright, I really wish I could have left you with that happy picture of Fang and I and our family and Iggy and Nudge together and everything perfect, but if you want me to be truthful, you gotta take it all. The other night was one of the best nights ever, but you know how it is for us. The best nights always end in disaster.

I grabbed Fang's hand and ran out onto the floor, Nudge and Iggy not far behind us. It wasn't long before I was looking dreamily into Fang's eyes, thinking all sorts of happy thoughts, some not suitable for Angel to even hear.

I felt so happy with Fang, and that Nudge finally got Iggy again. I was starting to resent the hell out of my own sister for being so obnoxious with it. Nudge would always be more like my sister than Ella ever would be.

"Hey," Iggy tapped on my shoulder. "Me and Nudge are gonna go out to the parking lot and tip a couple of trucks over."

"Have fun," I said dreamily, still lost in Fang's dark eyes.

"Oh, and Fang?" Iggy asked cheerfully. "Max is thinking something along the lines of the fact that in heaven, there are only you, her, and no clothes. Kay, Bye!" he shouted and ran toward the door.

And then…it happened.

That right there sounds ominous enough.

Iggy and Nudge froze in their tracks, halfway to the door when a sickening crackling sound rumbled up from the floorboards and vibrated under our feet. Everyone in the middle of the floor stepped back to the edges. I gathered my flock and stared at the middle of the floor, wondering what was under there. The growling was worse than Iggy's stomach in the morning.

It continued to rumble and build, almost like something was actually under there, instead of a problem with the pipes or the air vents. I knew it was something more than just that, and the flock knew it too. Fang and Iggy, despite Iggy's blindness, managed to look right t each other and nod once. In an instant, Fang had his jacket off and Iggy was rolling up his own sleeves.

Was I not getting something?

The rumbling increased quickly, and I found myself pressed against the wall. Nudge was clinging to Iggy like a second skin, and Angel had bared her teeth in sheer defiance. A single floorboard snapped and flew into the air, landing at our feet. And there's where things went wrong.

My eyes widened in sheer surprise as the whole floor began to tremble, and the whole gym began to rattle under our feet. A few people made it through the double doors at the end of the gym, and some people were just too frozen with fear, curiosity and shock to move a muscle. The ones that got away were lucky.

The entire center of the floor caved in then, floorboards falling one after the other into a bottomless pit of blackness, and what was inside it remained unseen. No one was brave enough to go up as they kept coming. Everyone was plastered to the wall, praying that it wouldn't cave in far enough to take everyone with it.

When the circle had a diameter of about ten feet, it stopped altogether, and there was no more shuddering. The lights, which had been flickering, now stood still and unleashed their glow in a perfectly normal fashion. One boy, who couldn't have been older than fifteen or sixteen, scrambled to his feet and over to the edge of the hole, peering in.

The floor caved in then, suddenly, giving another two feet to the diameter an engulfing the boy in the darkness of whatever was below. I watched with morbid curiosity as he fell in, shrieking. A dull thud was heard milliseconds later. Angel's face was more emotionless than Fang's as she watched with no childhood horror, no screaming, not even the urge to run. I had a sickening thought that she knew what was coming.

The lights went out then. Everyone started screaming, and from the footsteps I heard, some had started running. Multiple thumps were heard, just like that boy from before, and I knew that they had fallen into the pit. Probably landing on top of each other, the realities were unbelievable.

On top of it all, I felt droplets rush down from the ceiling onto us all, making the floor slick. I heard shouting, screaming, moaning and crying as people simply slid into the hole. I can't imagine what the people at the bottom were feeling as they were practically crushed. For some strange reason, they were unable to get out.

The water must have been the sprinklers above us, triggered in a fire. Someone must have set them off. Fang grabbed my hand and whispered in my ear above all the screaming, "I'll lead us all to the exit. The others are in my hands. Follow me." He inched his way along the wall until we got to a door.

He pushed it, but it didn't open. I pushed too, with all my strength. I didn't know if it was the sweat running down my face or the water, but I knew that I was trying hard. We all slammed our weights against the door, but it wouldn't budge. "The doors, they won't open!" one girl screamed, and there were many mournful screams, of normal teenagers just like the ones we'd always known. Teenagers with their whole lives that were supposed to be trauma free ahead of them.

Nudge fell to the floor, and her body was instantly affected by the emotions that had been going through it in such a short time. She saw normal gym class periods in the gym, with gym teachers yelling at the children to run while putting his feet up and drinking a Coke –you know, the accidentally sadistic type- but she also saw everything that was going on, despite the lights being out.

Her body tensed with realization as she figured out just exactly what was under the floorboards, the one running this thing, the one that had already possibly killed a few children, and set prom dates, best friends and siblings against each other in trying to escape. Children slammed against the doors, and others even tried to smash the windows with their fists. They screamed in pain as they fell back, unable to do so.

"Get out of there, you coward!" she bellowed, and the screaming instantly stopped, as if the other children remembered we were there, and that we could save them. "Get out of your hole! We killed you once, we'll kill you again!" she screamed, and I had started to believe that she was going insane. Who the hell was she talking to, and who the hell was down there causing all of this?

"Get us out of here!" cried voices. "The flock will save us! They've killed Erasers and everything! Get us out of here! How many more hours before we drown in here?"

With dreaded realization, I realized they were right. The sprinklers above me had gotten much worse, with water gushing out at the rate of slightly less than an average fire hose. It didn't seem like much, but we didn't know how long we could be stuck in here. By the end of the night, we could drown. All the openings had been sealed off. Someone wanted to kill us.

We weren't strong enough to break down the door, and they had sealed us in with water. Not even the windows could be broken. It just couldn't be done. I blinked as water ran in my eyes, and my dress hung limply on my body. I kicked off my shoes and instructed the flock to do the same.

An eerie yellow-green light reflected out of the hole, and it captured all of our attentions. I glanced around the gym, and I could see that the water was already up to my ankles. The faces of the other children were masks of pain, but when I looked at Fang, I saw a determined grin. "We always get out okay," he whispered in my ear. "We can do this."

A shadow rose out of the hole, and everyone but Nudge and Angel gave a gasp, because they saw it for who it truly was. It took me a minute to process it, but it was all too familiar, the face of the huge, hulking shadow; I would know it anywhere. My eyes widened farther than they had that night, and I was afraid they were going to pop out.

If you haven't figured it out by now, I'll give you a hint. The guy standing in front of us was Dr. Muscles of Death.

As in, the one that broke into our hotel room and ambushed us on top of the giant nickel.

"You!" I hissed, and shock and outrage showed on my face. I abruptly stopped, and the shock and outrage was replaced by a lack of comprehension. It wasn't the same guy. It looked a lot like him; huge fake muscles, a mean glare in the eye, a thirst for blood –metaphorically-, this wasn't the same guy, but it was incredibly alike.

He was taller this time, and, if it was possible, his muscles were bigger, and disgustingly vein-y. There were claws, huge iron claws, hooked onto the end in his hand, and, by simply staring at the ceiling, he caused it to spontaneously burst into flames, which were not extinguished by the water. Normally, this would have been beyond cool. But against us, this was a nightmare.

"Will someone please tell me what's going on?" Iggy asked tensely.

"The place is in chaos, the gym is a wreck, and Dr. Disgusting is back," Nudge said weakly. Iggy slowly helped her to her feet, and her legs were still wobbly, as though the effects of so many losses were still affecting her.

He rose out of the hole slowly, his feet thudding dully and terrorizing the life out of the children scattered all about the gym. He raked his claws along the gym floor, which, even in the water, caused a terrible screeching sound on the polished surface. The entire hole of water had filled to the brim, and I knew that the kids in there had died. Nudge started to sob. Angel didn't cry, didn't move. She sat there solemnly.

"Your time has come," his disgusting voice came as he stepped out of the hole. "You have not killed me as of yet. You've killed the one before me, but the end is here now, and it's here for you!" Then children in the corners had stopped clawing at the doors and were now sobbing quietly and trying to comfort each other. I felt a cry rise up in my throat as he turned his head on them.

"You're next." The wailing began, and the pounding on the doors resumed again, desperately trying to get out. With a cry of rage, Angel rose up and glared at him with the ferocity of a tiger, and her eyes glowed orange and yellow as they had the day that she had come home from school with the new power. Flames shot from her eyes, the most powerful that they'd ever been. They shot right at him.

As the flames came closer, he didn't even flinch, but he appeared to be concentrating on something. When the flames should have stuck him down, they bounced of, completely repelled by him. "Your powers don't work on me," he declared, "and that is why you'll meet your doom."

"Meet our doom?" I called over, furious as hell. "Our doom? Oh, you asshole! You have no idea what's coming to you! I should have expected this from Jeb, make up with me and then stab me in the back!" my pure rage and hurt fueled my actions as I flung myself at him with all my might, the flock close behind me.

I landed him with a perfect kick to the chest, and I put so much anger and hatred, all my feelings for Jeb and his betrayal into that one kick. It sent him spiraling back into the hole on his back, and he glared up at me as I stared down at him. The color drained from my face as I realized that the kids down there had all drowned by now. I was up to my shins in water.

It was hard to run. He sloshed up in the water and whirled on me, swinging his chubby arm at me so hard that I was smacked into the nearby wall. Fang totally snapped and kicked him so hard that even if he was human, he would most definetly never have kids. He kicked Fang back, squarely in the stomach, not feeling one bit of Fang's blow. He landed unconscious in the water.

My mouth bleeding, I crawled over to Fang and propped him up, standing up, so that I could buy some time before he wouldn't drown. The kids started to scramble up on the bleachers to try to escape. I knew that Angel could blast us out of here if I wanted her to, but if we didn't destroy him now, they would just keep coming. We had to end this, once and for all. This was probably going to be the final showdown.

I grimaced through my tears and the sting of the blood in my mouth, and slapped Fang, full on the face. "Wake up!" I screamed. "You've got to wake up!" His eyes fluttered, and then snapped shut. My hair whipped around my face and clung as I saw Iggy jump on the hulk and twist his head to the side, fully around. Incredible Hulk #3 didn't even blink an eye, but righted his head. Iggy furiously punched and kicked at him, but fell off and into the water.

"Max, I can't see!" he spluttered as he went under. He couldn't swim either. I sighed with relief as Nudge pulled him out of the water and up to the bleachers, where she begged him to stay. With a wild cry, she flew into the sky, despite the water droplets that grew heavy on her wings. "Aaaaaaaargh!" she cried as she pointed her feet straight down and dive-bombed him with everything she had. He staggered slightly, but in no time he was back.

She retreated back into the air as he struck at her, his claws grazing her slightly. She cried out in pain and flew back to Iggy, where she gasped and held her bleeding side. I was just sitting there the whole time, watching everything fall apart, paralyzed by my own pathetic fear.

I will love Gazzy for this forever. Right then, Gazzy shot me a quick smile and pulled something out of his jacket. I couldn't tell what it was, but when he pressed the button on it, I knew. He launched it straight at the Incredible Hulk #3, and it struck home. The thing's entire arm blew off, straight into the air in a thousand smithereens. Blood gushed from the wound and darkened the flowing water. Gazzy quickly made his retreat.

I had temporarily forgotten about Fang, who was still unconscious, but I had to wake him up. I slapped him multiple times. "Fang!" I shouted. "Fang, wake up! I love you, I need you, I don't wanna lose you here, so buck up! Wake up!" His eyes remained closed. "Fang, I love you!" I pleaded, near tears again. I grabbed his face in my hands and kissed him full on the mouth, and his eyes fluttered open. He held me tighter and wound his hands into my soaking hair, and gave me such a good French kiss it made my head spin.

"Wow," I said when we pulled back. He smirked at me. "Let's kick his ass," he grinned at me. I turned around just in time to see the thing grab Angel's head in its enormous hand, the one that Gazzy hadn't blown off. . I knew that if he squeezed at all, he would crush her. My baby, Angel, she would get crushed in a matter of seconds. He lifted her off the ground, kicking and screaming at him. She got an evil glint in her eyes and clamped her teeth down on his hand. He shook furiously, despite it only being a minor irritation, and despite her pain, she wouldn't let go. She held on with all of her might, his blood seeping through her teeth, and she wouldn't let him win until he shook her off, and she went flying off, splashing in the water, quickly rescued by Gazzy.

I whirled on him, kicking him in ever place, and Fang was right behind me. With quick jabs to pressure points and behind his neck, and at the base of his spine, we made quick work of him before he got seriously pissed. The next thing I knew, I had been grabbed around the waist in a death grip once again. I was upside down, the blood draining into my face as I had the life squeezed out of me. Just when I was blacking out, just when I couldn't hear Fang anymore, just when I thought I was going to die, I was brought back to life as I was dropped in the water.

I landed sideways, and I floated limply in Fang's arms as I saw Jeb running through the haze and into the gym. But that wasn't right, the doors were closed. It had meant he had never left, and that he had been waiting here for me. I was instantly filled with doubt. How could he betray us again by sending this thing after us, right after he told me that he'd be there for us now? I glared in fury, but my head throbbed dully.

I was scooped up in his arms then, despite Fang's angry protests. Jeb rushed me up to the top of the bleachers, and set me down gently. "Max, thank God you're alive," he managed to get out. "I have to end this, once and for all. I'll never let this happen to you again. Stay here, please, and rest. And for God's sake, don't do anything stupid!" He was gone before I could even protest. I saw him running down the bleachers, and felt like crying, knowing I would probably never see him or talk to him again.

Now the children were whimpering in corners, huddling together, trying to comfort each other. No one else dared to wander toward the center where the showdown was happening, no one even bothered with their dead friends or prom dates. All they thought of was themselves now. The time for grieving was over. Moans, groans and crying were heard throughout the gym as the water rose to their thighs.

Jeb struggled to make his was through the water. He stopped in front of the huge thing. "I'm calling off your mission!" he cried to the huge hulk. It eyed him curiously, with a hint of hostility. "Do not destroy them! I order a self-destruct!" The thing let out a low grunt as it struck Jeb, so tiny compared to the huge hulk of flesh. He flew back into the wall, and now, in this light and in this situation, he looked like another defenseless old man.

I blinked, I could swear I just saw Jeb's eyes glow. But that was impossible. Humans like him didn't do things like that. But then, I saw him run, actually run, with inhuman speed, though the water at the hulk. He stopped right before him and pulled out a shotgun, glancing up at me. I quickly looked away, feigning sleep. He brought the gun level with the thing's chest and fired three shots in its heart area. I knew that it wouldn't work. It really looked like it was the end. But I was glad he'd come back.

The teenagers started to wail and slam themselves against the doors again, trampling each other as the water rose to their lower waists. It was rising faster again. In a few minutes they would all be coming on the bleachers, some of them already were. And then we would swim. Swim until the end, when it was too late.

The water poured out of the sprinklers at the rate of extra large fire hoses now. It poured down on us, and I noticed it rise at the level that a glass of water looks like in a narrow glass. It flowed past Jeb's hips, past his chest, and past his chin until he had to swim. It broke my heart, and I called down to him, one last time, "Swim up here! Swim up here, Dad! I love you! I'm so sorry, Dad!" I whispered the last part.

"Dad," Jeb whispered, awed. I gave him a sad smile.

The ones that were already on the bleachers started removing their shoes, and they threw them at the hulk. "For the flock!" shouted one, and I was touched, because I understood that even though this was all our fault, they were still willing to follow us. They threw all their shoes, and in one large heap, they struck him on the head, making him stagger and fall back. I blinked twice as I noticed that Fang was now right behind the hulk, making the guesture to shush.

I gasped as I noticed that Fang had a machete aimed at the hulk's back, straight into his heart. And when the hulk fell back from all the shoes, right at the last minute, the last minute that Fang could possibly stand, he rammed the machete straight in, and it came straight through. One last haggard breath escaped it before it died, crumpled, and stayed that way for good.

Fang swam and grabbed Jeb, using all his strength to finally make sure that I would have my father with me as I died. I wanted all of us together. I pulled Iggy, Nudge, Angel and Gazzy closer to me, cuddling them closer as the chaos around us kept going on. Kids swarmed upon the bleachers, trying to save themselves. Fang's face lit up as he pulled Jeb up to me. "What?" I asked worriedly.

The water was now up past the doors, and the lower bleachers were swamped. "If I just killed it, the doors might open, and the water will spill out," said Fang.

"Fang, No!" I sobbed. "Just end it! It's over, we're done! We pushed our luck too far this time! If you go down there, you'll drown, and I'll never see you again!"

"It's too late to take that chance," he said. "Max, you know I love you, and you know I love you and the flock more than anything. I'll do whatever I have to so I can keep you alive, you silly girl," he smiled, and then kissed me, for what I thought would be the last time. "Bye," he whispered.

I squeezed Angel's arm as Fang dived off and under the water. I remember feeling tense and like everything was going to end for three full minutes before the doors sprung open and the water swept out into the hallway, carrying Fang with it.

The hope that it brought was astounding. I squeezed Jeb's hand as he hobbled down the bleachers. It would always be easier from now on. I peered out the window. I had never been so happy to see the dawn.

**Don't you dare flame, I'll say it right now. If you think Max was weak, see what you would be like if you were watching people die and drown. Don't you dare say that I'm too morbid, either. xD Review, I really wanna know how I did! But don't flame, haha. **

**Also, I have put up pictures of Max, Nudge and Angel's dresses. Er, the best I could find, not the real ones in my imagination which were super cute. xD They're on my profile. **

**~Rachel**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N - Okay. So the poll has ended, and Fax has won. I will have a Fax story up on May 10th. And for those of you who thougth that I was gonna kill off Fang, get real. I'd shoot myself first. I'm glad all the depressingness of the last chapter is over, and on with the new one. Plot twist alert! **

**Life of a Winged Teenager **

**Chapter 15**

Hours later, the entire gym was filled with the survivors and their parents. The whole town was probably in there, and it was crowded and noisy. The gym was in ruins, the floor was soaked and splintered, and there was a big gaping hole full of water with bodies at the bottom of it in the middle of the gym. The bleachers were smashed, and there was blood on the floor where the hulk's body had been.

The scoreboard and basketball goals had fallen over at some point and smashed against the floor. There were holes and dents in the wall, and the windows were scratched. The doors were covered in little scratches and bits of blood. Worst of all, there were so many people crowded into the small area, so many parents weeping for their lost children, that the ones who were still alive were lost in a sea of people, unable to find their families. There was confusion and panic, and the police were trying to calm everyone down.

I was hanging on tight to Jeb and the flock, who weren't without injury. Iggy snapped his broken nose back into place with a quick wince, and half of Gazzy's face was turning a familiar yellow that it always did right before the purple bruise came in. Angel's blonde hair was streaked red and soaking wet, her dress torn and her eyes constantly losing focus.

Nudge's hair was wild and her dress was also torn. Her feet were raw and blistery, and there was dried blood caked on parts of her face. Jeb's back was killing him as he hunched over in pain, and I was afraid we were all going to catch colds, as ridiculous as it sounded.

I was as paranoid as hell, myself. I cared nothing for my injuries, though I knew that I had them. Where the hulk had almost squeezed the life out of me was still throbbing brokenly, and there were scratches, cuts and bruises all over me. My nose was still bleeding, and my white dress was no longer white, to say the least. But I was more concerned with other things, like where Fang was and how many people had died.

As soon as Fang had burst through the doors in that torrent of water, he had disappeared under the water and out of our sight. We didn't know where he was, if he had drowned, or if he was still alive. We managed to hold onto the idea that he had escaped, but I was having my doubts. The police had shown up soon enough, but only just recently, and it had been hours since I had seen Fang.

Jeb raised his hand weakly, released himself from my grasp and flagged over a cop. Only earlier today, he had been strong and fighting against that thing, but now, his voice was that of an old man, and I was filled with pity, sorrow and regret. "What's happening?" he asked slowly.

"We're trying to restore order here, sir, but we can't do anything much. We need to reunite students with their families and get medical help to others. It's a good thing we could finally turn off the water, though," he gave a shaky laugh. He was an old man, probably sixty or seventy.

Nudge's eyes were large and round as she turned to look at him. "H-how many dead?" she asked with tears in her eyes.

"Listen, girly, I don't think you need to worry about that just yet…"

Her hand went out to grab his arm. "Please," she begged. "I need to know. This all happened because of us, because we were here on our stupid mission to save the world. This is all my fault. I need to know how many lives I just ended. Please."

He nodded once. "I don't know the exact number, and we haven't been able to count the exact number of people in that pit over there, but I'll give it to you straight, honey. What you're lookin' at here is probably 100 people dead, more or less. Whoever didn't fall into the pit got battered against the door or trampled. Now, I know it's sad and all, but it's not your fault." He patted her hair awkwardly, and she promptly burst into tears.

My eyes narrowed at him. "Go," I ordered as he shuffled guiltily away. Iggy held on tight to Nudge with one arm and onto his newly repaired nose with the other, wincing in pain and trying to breathe through his mouth. I couldn't take it anymore. I had been waiting for Fang for hours, and the only thought in my mind was that he was dead.

"I'm going to go look for him," I announced, and proceeded down the bleachers and into the sea of people. As soon as I entered I was instantly tossed around. There was hardly enough space for me to breathe, even though I was a good 5 inches taller than the tallest guy there. I fought against the crowd to keep myself on my feet, and I couldn't see anything.

It was all a mass of unfamiliar faces, none of which belonged to Fang. I screwed my eyes shut as I glanced at a dead girl, lying by the bleachers, whom no one cared for and certainly no one was trying to find. Quickly, I threw my wrap over her and took a deep breath, continuing on. She had been the girl who had slapped her boyfriend that gave her the spiked punch, I remembered.

I got nearer and nearer to the hole in the center of the gym, the water still up to the edge. I saw faces on the bottom, the faces of the students who had fallen in. There had to be more than twenty or thirty of them down there. There were people on the edge of the hole who were working with people inside the hole to get the dead ones out. One of them, carrying a stretcher with three or four of them, bumped into me and sent me flying back into the crowd.

"Watch where you're going, you idiot-" I whirled around and noticed who I was actually talking to. "Fang," I breathed and fell into his arms. He captured me in a hug and pressed his lips to mine gently. My fears for him vanished in an instant and my world was alright again.

"Where were you?" I cried. "I was so worried about you, and you flooded through those doors, and I thought you were dead, and…and…" I trailed off as I sank into his embrace. "I was scared," I admitted.

"We need to get Jeb and the flock to your mom's," Fang said. "They've just been through a tremendous amount of stress, Max, and Jeb, well, let's face it, isn't getting any younger, and that was an amazing thing he did trying to protect you. This isn't our problem now that it's over. There's nothing else we can do."

"I know," I sighed. "I just don't know why, just when everything good is happening, that things have to go all messed up for us. I want to save the world, Fang, but I don't have any idea how, especially when these things keep getting in my way."

"Someone doesn't want you to save the world," Fang said. "And it's not Jeb. It's Itex. That blonde woman, and all those people, they lied to you. Lied to us. They want us to think that nothing's going on, but they're taking over the world by winning our trust. They're out to kill you, Max." I could see the concern in his eyes.

"I know, and there'll be hell to pay, Fang. But I have to take care of them first. I have to make sure Jeb's okay, and I have to take care of the flock. I have to find what's up between Jeb and my mother –long story- and then, only then, can we go to Itex and take them out for good. We've got one lethal little girl on our side," I grinned, looking up at Nudge, who was slapping Iggy's hand every time he tried to touch his nose.

He grabbed my hand, and squeezed it tightly. There might have been destruction and death all around us, but I still managed to be happy in that moment, because Fang was with me, and I didn't know what I would have done without Fang there. He was the reason that I had to keep going, and was all the reassurance I needed to know that someday soon, I would destroy Itex.

At the top of the bleachers, I scooped Angel into my arms, and took Gazzy's hand in mine. Fang offered Jeb his shoulder, but Jeb refused, trying to save what little dignity he had. But when he stumbled on his way down, it was Fang who caught him and forced him to accept help. Nudge leaned on Iggy and breathed a sigh of relief every second that she realized that Ella wouldn't be around anymore.

The people that shuffled around on the floor, constantly blocking our path, were no problem. "MOVE!" Nudge bellowed, and they quickly scattered. "Thank you, thank you, excuse me, pardon me," she said sweetly and politely as she led us through the crowd of already traumatized people. "Talk about bipolar," Fang muttered.

Once we got into the parking lot, I gave a howl of despair as I realized that the limo that we had come in was gone. "Uh, Max? We have wings," Gazzy explained. "Can't we just fly?"

He was silenced by a pointed glare from Jeb.

"How are we gonna get home?" I cried, and flung myself at Fang's shoulder dramatically. I could practically feel him rolling his eyes as he patted my hair awkwardly.

"I have a car," Jeb pointed weakly to a Chevrolet Corvette, to which he received many ooh's and aah's. "Not the Corvette, the one next to it," he said, annoyed. The one next to it turned to be a beat up pickup truck. There were dents in it the size of our heads, and it looked at least sixty years old. It was caked in dust, mud and grime, and there were dead flies on the windshield.

"That's…nice…" Gazzy said at last. We all nodded in unison. "Yeah, really cool. I'd totally date you if you were like eighty years younger," Nudge grimaced. Jeb glared at her menacingly and hobbled over to the side door.

"Oh no you don't," Fang started. "You can't drive. You're in pain. Someone responsible should drive, someone calm, someone who really, really, really wants to drive the-"

"Fang, no! You've already driven us two or three times, and that was plenty enough for all of us! It made Nudge and I sicker than when we were plane hitchhiking. We'll take the bus, or walk…" I gave up, seeing his puppy eyes. "Fine. But go slow." From the moment I said that, I knew we were doomed.

"Yes!" He pumped his fist in the air and skipped, literally skipped, into the car like a first grader on crack. He sat behind the steering wheel eagerly as we reluctantly got into the car and fastened our seatbelts quickly.

He backed the car out slowly, and for a moment I thought everything was going to be okay. He then slammed his foot on the gas so hard that we were all flung against the back of our chairs, holding onto anything we could grab for dear life.

Every time he rounded a corner my head was thrown against the window, and there was a large thump of the others in the back hitting their heads on each other. I didn't think that it would ever end, even though we were only a few miles from my mom's house. "Whatever happens, I love you, Nudge!" Iggy cried dramatically, then clutched his heart and proceeded to gag. I heard a loud whack as she slapped him.

He rounded the corner again. "Fang, hit the breaks!" I cried as I saw a cat in the way. It was around 10 yards away, and coming closer. He pressed his foot down hard. "It won't work!" he screamed. "If it's smart, it'll move!" The cat leapt out of the way at the last minute and Angel sighed with relief.

I saw the house at the end of the street. It was only another block or two and we would be home. Then it dawned on me. "Fang, if the break doesn't work, how are we going to stop?" The house got closer. One block…half a block…

"I don't know!" he yelled as the car turned into the driveway. I braced myself as the car went straight through the garage door and hit the back wall, sending everything in the garage toppling over with the vibrations. We all glanced back at the broken garage door. "That was AWESOME!" Gazzy cried, and ran out the door to look at the garage door with a pickup sized hole in it.

"Get in here, Gazzy," I called as I got out of the car with the others. Fang helped Jeb out of the car, and I pulled Nudge, Iggy and Angel out of the other side. "Max, this really isn't a good idea," he whispered in my ear as he went in. I ignored him as I opened the door and went searching around the house.

"Mom?" I called. "Mom?" She came running out of the kitchen and around the corner. "I was so scared!" she burst into tears, pulling me into a hug. "I heard on the news what happened at the school, and I didn't know if you were dead or alive or…or…" she stopped and wiped her eyes. "Oh, God, look. I'm crying like a baby. Do you guys want some chocolate chip cookies?"

"Yeah, that'd be great," I grinned. "We probably gotta change out of our bloody clothes and get showered up. The kids will probably be in here in a second or two."

Right on cue, the others walked through the door. "Hey, doc, does my nose look right?" Iggy asked as he messed with his once-broken nose. Nudge slapped his hand away once again. My mom smiled at him and shooed the others upstairs to take a shower.

Fang came through the door at last with Jeb leaning on him for support. My mother looked up and saw him, and her eyes got wide. Jeb grimaced, and I realized that he knew what was coming. My mother screamed. It was a high, earsplitting scream, and we all turned to look at her. Angel's eyes widened.

"Sorry for the bad thoughts, Angel," my mom huffed when she was done screaming. "But Max, what the hell are you doing bringing him in here?" I opened my mouth to speak, but she interrupted me. "No, shut up. I want him out of here. Whatever you have to do with him, put him in the pound. He's not staying in my house. You get that bastard out of here."

"Listen, Valencia," he began.

"No, you listen!" she spat. "You never come back in this house, of all the nerve! I didn't ever want to see you again, and now you've go the children bringing you here! Well, let me tell you something!" she stepped closer. "I don't give a rat's ass if you live or die anymore. After what happened, and you know what, you should have just crawled under a rock and went, but you had to stay here. Well, you stay away from me, and stay away from my daughter."

"Val…"

"GET OUT!"

He released Fang and scrambled for the door, shutting it faster than you can say pissed off. He didn't stop hobbling away until he was off the property.

I gave my mother one disbelieving look. "What the hell was that about?" I asked. "We were getting along better, Mom! What'd he ever do to you? For your information, he almost died trying to protect me! I love both of you now, so what did he do that was so bad?"

"You wouldn't understand," she said bitterly. "But what he did do was unforgivable. Please just leave it at that," she begged. "I need an aspirin. Just go. Eat cookies, take showers, play in the street for all I care. But do not let him in here." She walked off to her bedroom.

"Max-" Fang began.

"No, Fang. I'll fix it," I said, and ran out the door, leaving them there. I ran to the edge of the driveway and looked down the street to find Jeb hobbling down it on his own. I ran to catch up to him, and I didn't run very long. "Jeb, where are you going?" I asked tiredly. "You're not leaving. I don't care what my mom says." I dragged him over to the side of the road and sat him down.

"I suppose what you want to know what happened back there," he groaned.

"Damn right!" I yelled. "I don't understand, Jeb. She's so upset because of something that happened between you and her, I don't even know how long ago. And I saw a picture at that school. You and she both went there, and you and she were both in the same science club. You knew each other before this, and I know there's something you're not telling me."

"You're right," he sighed. "I did know her. I probably knew her since the seventh grade. We were in the same science club, and I remembered having a sort of crush on her. Your mom was very pretty, Max. Just like you are." He patted my hair.

"We both ended up going to the same high school. We didn't spend any time together, and we weren't friends. She barely knew I existed, though she talked to me occasionally. I knew she wanted to pursue a career in the scientific field, so I followed her, even there, and became a scientist.

"Our paths crossed when I was working at the School on a way to recombine DNA. I had gotten very far in my study. As she had been one of my colleagues in high school and college, I requested her specifically to work on the case with me, her studying the animal part of what would become you, and I working on how to pull it all together.

"We made much more progress than I had alone with the whole experiment. Long hours in a day, it would be just her and I together in the same room with a bunch of computer work, and we still managed to have a good time. She was much more interested in me than she had been in college.

"And…regrettably, this is where everything we told you becomes a lie. This is what really happened, and nothing else is true. I…I figured that after so many years, I would give it a shot. I was around twenty-eight, and your mother was the same age. I asked her out on a date with me, and she accepted. And that's where everything went wrong. We came back to the lab, and we didn't have anyone else in our lives, it was just us.

"We…I know it's bad for you to think about, Max," he said awkwardly, "but we…we did it. Eh, well, right there in the lab."

"Ew ew ew ew mental pictures!" I shrieked and covered my eyes. After breathing for a few minutes, I opened my eyes. "Continue, please," I managed to get out.

"After it was done, we were never quite the same. Every night after we spent day after day perfecting the way that the flock would soon come to be, we…we did the same thing. And after a few sweet weeks like that, she announced that she was pregnant…and I was happy for her. I asked her to marry me, and she said yes.

"A few months later, it was already starting to show, and we began to get more and more caught up in our lives than our work. We didn't care about making the birdkids anymore, and we were all for making a family. One day, when I came in and saw her leaving the computer screen and staring at a catalog with baby things in it, my heart snapped and I had to tell her. I had to tell her that it wasn't going to work, and that I couldn't be with her.

"After that, she just left. She didn't say anything to me, but I knew she understood. She left the lab and never came back. I always hoped that she'd come back, day after day, and convince me not to do it, but she never did. I continued the experiment, and they later became Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gazzy and Angel, who were all born from human mothers but, in reality, not created through sex but from a shot of sperm and avian DNA."

"But what about me-"

"I'm getting to that. The baby that I let go, the baby that Dr. Martinez had, that was you, Max. She took you with her, had you on her own and donated you to the school because in the hospital, as soon as you were born, I later found out that two people from the School came and forcibly took you away. You are the only bird child to be born from two parents."

I was trying to figure it out in my head. "But…that would mean that I'd be all human. You and my mom are both humans. Human plus human does not equal bird, the last time I checked." My eyes opened wide as I had a sudden flashback.

_I blinked, I could swear I just saw Jeb's eyes glow. But that was impossible. Humans like him didn't do things like that. But then, I saw him run, actually run, with inhuman speed, though the water at the hulk.\_

"Unless…" I gulped. "Unless you're not human, Jeb."

Without a word, he slipped off his jacket, and my eyes widened as I saw the familiar slits in the back of the shirt that matched mine exactly. Wings slowly folded out of the slits, and they were the same tawny color as mine. He looked straight at me. "I was born this way, Max. This is why I didn't socialize when I was a kid, this is why I don't have much of a social life now, because I have to hide it. There's no one else out there like me."

I allowed myself to gape as he went on. "I still love your mom more than anything, and I always have, but if I hadn't left her, the rest of the flock wouldn't exist. I did what was best for then, but I love her more than ever now. I cried when I heard that she had gotten married, and I'm not fond of Ella because she reminds me of him, although he's dead.

"I have powers too, just like you guys. They've gotten worse because I'm older than you, but I still have them. I can run fast when I want to, and I can still fly. My disadvantage is that I do not have your type of DNA that recombines.

"Now your mother's kicked me out of her house. I want more than anything to get her back, and I don't blame her for hating me, even now. I was so hoping it wouldn't be that way. I need you to help me, Max. I need you to help me get her back."

"I will," I said, and sealed my fate.

* * *

"You see, this is why I'm glad I don't have parents," Fang joked as we sat on the front porch watching the rain pour down. I sighed, not amused. Right now, Jeb was cold and wet in the shed in the back of my mom's house, and she didn't know. He was miserable, but at least he had a place to stay and the food that I brought him.

"I always wished that Jeb would end up with my mom," I said in awe. "Turns out he was. I know it's weird for me to say this, Fang, because that'd be like Bambi snarling at you and gnashing his fangs, but it's really romantic, the way it all happened. And really sad, too."

"Bambi gnashing his fangs?" asked Fang, tilting his head to the side in confusion.

"That's all you got out of that?" I raised an eyebrow. "Boy, you are dense," I declared, and pressed my lips to his once again.

"If him being dense is an excuse for you to kiss him, you might as well just superglue your lips to his lips," Total stated evenly as he walked out of the doggy door.

Fang and I jumped apart. "Total!" I gasped. "Did…did you just hear that?"

"Yeah, but don't worry," he plopped down beside us. "I won't tell anybody, especially Dr. M. Except, ya know, Angel, cause I'm a terrible liar. But seriously, Max, Bambi gnashing his fangs? I gotta tell that to my friends on Facebook."

"Facebook? You're a dog, Total."

"Oh, hell yeah. Why do you think I have 2,074 friends?" He winked at us as he walked inside.

"Damn, we just got owned by a dog," Fang said.

**It's true. If my friend from school can request Justin Bieber on Facebook and live to tell it, I sure would request a scottie. That'd be awesome, or as my 50-year-old dad would say, that'd be EPIC. **

**~Rachel**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N - I'm so sorry D: I've been getting requests to continue this one, I've just been so busy for the last few days! My graduation was on wednesday, though, I'm free! Anyway, I almost didn't do this, because I wanted to cherish the first few days of my summer, but I figured I love writing so damn much. -By the way, I _hate _grammatical/spelling errors with a passion, and I try my hardest. Just a thought.- This is my longest chapter yet, I believe! **

**This chapter is for Cat and Els, who asked me specifically to update it. **

**Life of a Winged Teenager **

**Chapter 16**

My eyes shifted both ways as I snuck into the kitchen. The flock had dispersed after breakfast, and this might be my only chance to grab a muffin or two for a certain man hidden in a shed. Tiptoeing in as quietly as I could, I ran up and grabbed two muffins, three bananas and a bottle of water. I stuffed them under my shirt quickly, hugging my arms to my stomach to keep them from falling out.

I was halfway to the door when I ran into my mother. I mentally cursed at myself for being so careless. Next time I would do it when she was asleep. She gave me a curious look. "What are you doing?" she said, glancing at my posture.

"Stomachache," I groaned, which was the first thing that came to my mind. Seeing her worried glance, I hurried on, "Don't worry about me, it'll pass. I think it'll get better if I hang out in the shed for a while." I pushed the door open and ran out.

"But wait, don't you think lying down would be better?" she yelled after me.

"I'll lie down in the shed!" I promised, and scuttled away. I threw open the door of the shed and saw Jeb sprawled over a few sacks of animal feed, tumbling over garden tools and leaning against the wall, which had long been covered in cobwebs.

"Ugh, it's disgusting in here!" I exclaimed. The windows were covered in dust so thick you couldn't see out, and there was grime on the walls and floors. Mice scurried in and out of holes. I shuddered as I removed the food from my shirt and passed it to him. He hungrily scarfed down a muffin while I looked for a clean place to sit. I found none and opted to stand.

"At least it's dry," he said through bites of food. Honestly, he looked like a starving man, although I was positive that the flock had done worse in the ways of making people uncomfortable with the fuss that was caused over food. "Your mom's not an idiot, Max. She'll find out sooner or later."

"Preferably later," I chuckled nervously. "Jeb, let me tell you something," I said as I sat down next to him, ignoring the grime and nastiness of the shed. "Do you know why I'm still alive, and why I didn't give up, all those years in the School?"

He winced, knowing that it was his fault. "Because you were strong," he whispered.

"And you know how I became strong? If you don't care about someone, they can't hurt you anymore. The Erasers, the Director, Ter Borcht, they never hurt me because I don't care about them. But Fang can, because I care about him. So can the flock, and so can you and Ella and my mom. That's it.

"But…if you _do _care about someone, it can hurt a lot. They can hurt you if they're angry at you, or if they care about someone else, or if you push them away. If they care about you, they'll cry, get angry or react in some way.

"So…I think…I know that my mom still cares about you, because she's so angry and scared and hurt, even now, even after fifteen years. If she didn't care, you couldn't hurt her. But you can, and you have, and I know it because she still cares. So don't lose faith in her because she's angry at you now. She wouldn't be angry if she didn't care."

He looked up at me, hope in his eyes for the first time in years. –Who caused the hope? That's right – _moi. _So. I'm such a good person.- "Thank you, Max."

I stood up, walked out the door and closed it behind me. Taking a small detour into the forest, I couldn't believe the mess I'd gotten into. These were my _parents, _for heaven's sake. Getting them together was more of a pipe dream for my five-year-old self.

I shrieked as the tree I leaned against shifted underneath me, and jumped back. Quickly I karate-chopped the invisible thing until it became visible. "Fang!" I screamed. "How many times do I have to tell you to _make noise and wear rainbow colors? You startled me!_" He rubbed his sore head sourly.

"How many times do I have to tell you to be more vigilant? You're the leader, aren't you?"

"Guys!" Iggy threw his hands up as he stumbled into the forest we had gotten ourselves into. "You know what I hear when you talk? 'Blah blah blah –I love you Fang!- blah blah blah –I love you too, Max!' Wait, what the hell? How'd I even get outside?" he shrieked.

"You bitch like a girl," Fang said irritably. "Now, take some deep breaths. Think calming thoughts. And how do you feel about that?" he continued.

"Fang, you're an emo, not a psychiatrist," Iggy grimaced. "Anyway, we have a problem, you guys. When Jeb got all heroic and tried to stop the hulk thing by shooting it, we all –and I mean all of us- noticed that something was up. What we think is that-"

"Jeb has wings," Fang and I said in unison. "He was born with them," Fang continued. "Dude, keep up."

"Okay…" Iggy rolled his eyes. "Way to steal the moment. But, um, we have another problem. See, from the way Doctor Martinez acted, I think she's-"

"In love with Jeb!" we rolled our eyes. "Honestly, Iggy," I continued, "stop giving us the news. You suck at it. And I bet you were the only one dense enough to not figure it out."

"I'm _blind!_" he yelled.

"That totally explains your outfit this morning," Fang said thoughtfully. I put a hand over my mouth and coughed violently to disguise the laughter.

"Guys, focus," I said, my voice growing serious again. "I just thought of something. That hulk thing was only the second one, and they already had a second one. They made it clear to us that there were more plans. What if it never ends? What if they have another hulk ready for us after this one? What if something like that happens again? We can't let it end the lives of so many people. Nudge is torn apart."

"Another thing," Fang pointed out, "Is that Itex lied to us. They said they weren't controlling it, but they are. They said it to gain our trust and send it away while they made the plans for our attacker. We have to end this."

"And they're to smart to not see us coming," Iggy thought aloud. "They'll be waiting for us when we go. And they won't stop until we defeat them."

My mind, though it had taken a comfortable break from the leadership immediate emergency situation thinking for the past few days, was beginning to work in the familiar way, making plans. "We have to go now, giving them little time to rebuild, though they probably already have. It's been a few days since…well, you know."

"What should we tell the flock?" Fang asked.

"We tell them the truth. We tell them that we're going back up to Canada, confronting them, and that we're going to either kick ass or get our butts handed to us. Do you know why I'm so confident about all of this? Well, remember the School? If Nudge destroyed the whole thing with her new power, and Angel can shoot _fire, _it can only get easier."

"But wait," said Fang in an exasperated voice, finding a flaw in my brilliant plan. "Angel tried that, and the fire doesn't work on the hulk thing. And Nudge didn't even _try _her new power last time, because of all the killing going on. What if all the chaos this time makes her unable to use it?"

"Then we fight on our own, like we always have," I said defiantly.

"But Max, you keep acting like we're invincible, and we're not," Iggy sighed. "What if someone gets hurt? Anything could happen."

"If we don't do it now, it'll chase us until we're forced to," I snarled. "Do you want to deal with this years from now, _still _on the run, _still _completely alone in the world because you couldn't just settle down and raise a family, Nudge or no Nudge? Do you want that?" He shook his head no. "The decision is final. And I know it's tough, but we have to do this. You have thirty minutes to tell the kids and get your gear together, and then we're going."

His eyebrows furrowed and he looked at me, hurt and confusion in his sightless eyes. Nevertheless, he ran out of the forest and into the house, and I saw Nudge's happy smile turn into a look of horror as she stared out the window at me. I turned my back on her, guilt welling up in my heart. Fang's arm slid around me.

"You know we have to do this," he said. "She'll understand."

"No, she won't, Fang," I whispered. "She's just a kid. I keep having to make her do things, and she's more sensitive than Angel about death, killing and fighting. She'll crack soon, and it'll be my fault."

"Listen," he said, tilting my chin up. "I think you underestimate all of us. You don't think destroying the School was traumatic for her? Well, she did it. And you think she doesn't' know the situation? She knows her life will be a hard one, and she's okay with it. So you need to trust her more than you do. After all, she really is only one year younger than you."

"Shoot, I keep forgetting she's thirteen," I rolled my eyes. "And taking care of teenagers always sucks."

My eyes widened as I saw the shed behind me. "Oh, my god!" I don't know how long we'll be gone! I have to get more food for him, to last a few days, or he could starve!"

I ran into the house and started stuffing food into my arms. Fang appeared behind me and started gathering food too, shoveling the food instead into our backpacks. Meanwhile, I picked up cereal boxes, beef jerky, granola bars, crackers, non-perishables, and bandages, and fled outside before anyone, especially my mother, could see me. On the way out, I grabbed several magazines.

I burst in the door of the shed to find him staring absently at the wall. I dropped the food on one of the shelves and dropped the magazines on his lap. I quickly kneeled in front of him and ripped the old bandages off his face, despite his protesting, and replaced them with clean ones. "They can't get infected," I said. "Long story short, the flock and I are leaving for Canada. Back in a few days," I waved as I ran out the door, slamming it behind me.

When I ran in the house, my mother was there to meet me. Angel, Nudge, Gazzy, and Iggy were running up and down the stairs trying to get necessities like toothpaste and hairbrushes and toilet paper ready, while Fang was in the kitchen running to pack everyone's bags with the food that I _hadn't _given to Jeb.

"What in the world is going on here?" she shrieked. "Did you even stop to think about this? Oh, God, you guys, I'll get your stuff ready, all of you run upstairs and dress warmly! You're going back up north, right?" I nodded. "Go!" she hollered, and we all dashed up.

I ran into my room and peeled off my T-shirt, replacing it with a thicker turtleneck that I was ashamed to own. I threw on thick jogging pants and the thickest socks I could find, stuffing my feet into winter boots. I ran downstairs to join the flock, who had surprisingly finished before me, and grabbed a huge fur coat and a fluffy hat.

We all ended up looking like oompa-loompa's.

I grabbed my backpack and slung it over my shoulders. We only had a few hours, so I knew we'd be flying well into the night and stopping at a hotel to eat and rest in the middle of the night. I saw the flock getting on their backpacks and heavy winter coats, and fly around the house trying to round everything –including each other- up.

My mom came running up to me, tears in her eyes. "I just got you back after I thought you were going to die," she said. "I know you have to go, and I know you have to save the world, but why now? It's only been a few weeks since you first got here, back from Europe," she sobbed. "Why now?"

"It's just something we have to do, Mom," I said tiredly. "We'll be back, I promise. Right after we destroy Itex, once and for all."

And we all stepped into the bright sunlight. The midday sun hung over our heads, a blanket of heat in the Arizona haze. And we were all dressed in winter coats, in what could easily be hundred-degree weather. "Haha, it'll be cooler in the air?" I grimaced at the flock. They were clearly not amused.

Without looking directly at my mother, I mumbled a quick goodbye and flung myself off the ground and into the air, Fang and the others closely behind me. The wind whipped around us, but it wasn't necessarily enough to keep us safe from the sweltering heat. Fang's hair was already plastered to his forehead.

Nudge was silent as we flew, and I knew that what was to come was going to affect her from the way her brow furrowed every few seconds. Though no one had set it, the pressure rested squarely on the shoulders of Nudge, Angel and I. I was the leader, Angel had the fire and Nudge had the super-creepy new power where her eyes turned red and she got as evil as the antichrist.

"How do I know that I won't be able to control it?" she blurted an hour or two later, breaking the longest silence we had had in weeks. Our heads immediately swiveled toward her. "I mean, last time, I almost killed Max!" she noticed my death glare at her.

"I mean, not that I'm full of myself, or that Max is weak or anything," she added with a small smile, "but how do I keep myself from going evil on _you _and not _them_?"

"I thought you said that you could handle it," I growled. "In any case, you'll just have to, because it's not going to be that great for us if _you _take us down and not them. Think about that."

She was silent for the rest of the trip.

Flying was tenser than ever. I knew what we were all thinking about that 'what if' thought, what if we couldn't do this? Would it be the end for us if we couldn't, I wondered. This was our number one mission, the one that we'd been trying to achieve for quite some time now. The saving of the world rested solely on this.

Well, at least, Fang, Iggy and I were thinking about that, and I knew that Angel was, and I knew that the only thing that Nudge was thinking about was the enormous pressure being put on her, which I felt guilty about, sure, but only mildly, because it was true that she needed to be the best she could be.

But for Gazzy, however, life is all a game and nothing is serious. Erasers? Please. The hulk thing? No problem. A thousand evil scientists out for revenge? Must be his birthday. His mind wandered, unable to focus, and he soon got bored with flying in a straight line with no games to play and no one willing to talk to him.

"This sucks!" he burst out. "I mean, I don't mind saving the world and everything, it's actually kind of fun, but boring is something that I cannot stand, and will not tolerate. Why can't we just go plane hitchhiking again? That was fun, and our mouths got all flappy when the wind blew in 'em!"

"We're not going out of our way to search for an airport!" I exclaimed. "Do you know how much time that'll take? Not to mention that Iggy could just totally miss the plane, and fall to the earth! Do you know what would happen then, Gazzy? It rhymes with 'splat!'"

"But Max-"

"No buts. We're going to do this if it kills us. We aren't even halfway there, even a third, and it's only been a few hours. It's not even dark yet! I told you, we're not stopping until about one or two in the morning, when we'll find a hotel and settle down for the night. Until then, keep flying!"

"You know, you're really abusing the leader thing," Iggy sighed.

"I'm tense!" I shrieked, and kept flying without looking back.

For several hours, I could barely think. The events of the past weeks flooded through my brain, and I realized that we had come so far in only a short time. We had gone back to school. We had gone to Itex the first time. The first hulk had shown up. Fang and I had come together. The second hulk had shown up. Nudge had destroyed the School. I had figured out that Jeb wasn't a traitor, and that I loved him. And now this.

It was almost too much to be happening, and that even before, my life hadn't been nearly this chaotic, this hectic. In only a few weeks, so much had happened. And it wasn't as if I had found the meaning of life, or cured cancer or anything like that, but it was a pretty good start for the rest of my life. If I could get this much done in a few weeks, how much could happen in a year?

The feeling both cheered me up and terrified me. What if our lives were over just this quickly? Our expiration dates were bound to show up sometime –well, all but mine, because I was made especially a la Jeb and Doctor Martinez- and then we would lose each other, and lose ourselves, and no amount of strength could get us out.

What if Fang only lived to be fifteen?

The second I blinked, the sky turned dark to my eyes and I saw the droopy eyes of the flock. I had completely forgotten about them, and Angel looked like she was going downward fast, with Total squirming uncomfortably in her backpack. "Angel!" I screamed with all the energy I had left.

She kept falling, and she was about thirty feet below us by now. At a rapid rate, she began losing altitude. Forty feet…sixty feet…Fang snapped out of it and started after her. Right then, her eyes closed, and she plummeted to the earth.

Fang zoomed after her as Total positively slipped out of the backpack, and fell like a rock with her. Or, like a pebble. Angel was the one falling like a rock. Fang scooped up Total in one arm and tossed him up to Nudge, who was following him closely. Total gave a grateful bark and licked Nudge's face.

With a start, I noticed that it was 3:30 in the morning. That would explain something. I checked on Gazzy and Iggy, and although there were dark circles under their eyes, they were holding steady in the air. I had to get us to a hotel.

Fang and Angel became blurs in the distance, and I switched immediately to raptor-vision. I was so far away that all I could do was watch helplessly and pray with all my might that Angel would be okay. All of us but Iggy were watching now as Fang chased her through a cloud.

But Fang had one advantage. He was heavier, with his wings folded in, and Angel was lighter with hers folded out. She was parachuted, he dropped like a brick. And once he was below her, she hit him with a force that almost knocked him over.

The next thing we knew, he was soaring with her up through the clouds, carrying her sleeping form in his arms. "We seriously need to find a hotel," Iggy said weakly. I nodded vehemently.

In a matter of minutes, we had found a hotel, and I knew just where we were. It wasn't Nebraska like it had been last time, but rather, northern South Dakota. Come to think of it, why couldn't both Dakota's just get along? Don't be like Korea, guys.

We had clearly been flying a long time, and we were beat. I paid for two hotel rooms –four beds, yes!- with my mom's credit card, then slumped with the others upstairs. They were almost ready to go to sleep when I dug out the food. Despite the bitter complaining –it was almost like I was trying to poison them-, I managed to get about three cups of cereal down each of their stomachs.

Nudge, Angel and I said goodbye to the guys as they went into their own hotel room next. I barely managed to get Nudge through the shower, and then I had to rub the visible parts of Angel down with a sponge, she was so tired. When they both fell asleep in the bed that I had made them share, to which I was pleased that Nudge would _not _be kicking me all night, I was amazed to find that I couldn't sleep.

I had to get away from the walls, the closed-off space of the hotel room, or I would make myself crazy thinking about things like the future, Fang's future and the flock's future if we had one, and Jeb and my mother. I sighed and crawled out of the queen-sized bed and tiptoed across the room, relieved to look back on a snoring Nudge and a lightly dozing Angel, hugging Total to her.

I walked out the door, down the hall and out the emergency exit onto the roof. It was unusually calm and quiet up there, the cars and police sirens of the streets below didn't bother me in the least as I laid flat and looked up at the stars that were amazingly visible. I tried to count stars, and then I switched to sheep, but it didn't help me in the least.

I heard the emergency exit door open, and I will admit that I thought it was Fang at first. He has that way of making everything seem mysterious, and that's what it felt like. But the one I saw walking through the mist was Iggy. He sat with inaccurate precision next to me, folding his legs Indian-style and looking up with me.

"Max?" he asked, just making sure it was me.

"I thought you were Fang," I giggled.

"Oh, sorry," he said sarcastically. "No, he passed out a while ago. Carrying a six year old is tiring, you know."

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that. You're just awfully quiet."

He sat, silent in his thought for a while. "Hey, Max?" he asked suddenly. I looked up at him as he continued. "I just think, well…I just think that it's going to be okay tomorrow. You don't have to beat yourself thinking about us the whole time. Just do what you have to. We'll be there."

"Ig…" I started, unsure of what to say.

"And about what's going to happen to us in the long run," he continued, practically reading my mind. Had he been hanging out with Angel more than he should? "Everyone, every religion, they all talk about what's going to happen after death, if there's a heaven or hell and that the good people will go up, and the bad ones will go down," he rolled his sightless eyes.

"Well, you know what I think?" he asked. "I don't really think it matters. If we only have one life, that's pretty okay. I'm not gonna get greedy asking for another, know what I mean? If you only have one life, you're not living for the hope of heaven, or else it's worthless, you know? You're living because of this one life you have, and to make it count. That's the most important thing."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, if we have expiration dates, the important thing is that we're together, and we had this one life. We certainly made it count. Fang loves you, and we _will _save the world." He chuckled dryly. "And as far as this speech is concerned, I'm not giving up anytime soon. I'll fight it until the end. But I guess I've learned not to worry."

Tears pooled in my eyes and ran down my cheeks onto my arms, which were folded behind my head as a sort of makeshift pillow. "I don't know if I'm doing anything right, Iggy," I said truthfully as his hand absently stroked my hair. "It's causing so much stress and loss and hurt…the kids pretend it isn't hard, but I can see them putting on a strong face."

My voice was choked as I continued. "And Fang and me? I have no idea how long that'll last. Maybe until the end of the week, if I'm lucky. It was never really meant to happen, and we both have more important things to consider."

I had cried against Iggy so many times, because a lot of the time he was the only one that could ever really understand. He was so dense most of the time, but there were times when his inner self would just shine out to prove himself different from Fang and Gazzy. Sometimes I felt like he really was my brother.

"I mean…it's different for you and Nudge," I continued. "You know that it's never been one-sided. Sure, you had a tough time deciding, but you were both right for each other in the end. I…I can't see into Fang's head. He's always so quiet. I never know what he's thinking. And I really don't think it's about me."

"What makes you say that?" Iggy said angrily. "Do you have any idea how many times I wished that it was me and Nudge instead of you and Fang? You're the matriarch and patriarch of the flock, the king and queen, hell, you're the ones who lead us and you're always together, it's so clear that you're in love. There's nothing about two that's immature or silly to anyone else. Nudge and I always were."

"He's always had other girls! He's the mysterious one, the dark one, the one with the blog! Thousands of people know him, and thousands of girls love him! He's always in the spotlight, and he's always had girls like Lissa and Amber after him! It never ends, so why should he ever need me?" I said bitterly.

"Don't you think you need to give him more credit?" Iggy asked calmly.

"I'm just waiting for something, anything, to tear us apart," I said truthfully, "because I know it'll happen sooner or later."

"Max," Iggy said softly, "did you ever think that it could be you?"

If I was half as vigilant and alert as I always claim to be, I would have seen a certain dark-haired boy's eyes widen in disbelief. I would have sensed someone was there.

I would have heard a heart breaking.

**Don't shoot me. I had to do it. Why, well, I'm not really sure. Though, if you could review, that would be helpful. xD **

**Oh, and this week right before graduation - my stepmom called me a 'big girl' on my wall on Facebook. I would give you all her name and address so that you could burn house to the ground, but I don't necessarily know if that's legal/that I could be held responsible in any way. xD I can always dream. **

**P.S. I'm sorry if I've been a little slow updating my MR stories. You have to remember, I have five of them, with 4,500 words in a chapter. If there's one you'd like more than the others, vote on the poll on my profile. It's there until I get lazy. ^^**

**~Rachel**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N - Well, now that my writer's block is completely over, I present to you another chapter! Dang, I don't know where this story is going, but we'll all find out! This one was superfun to write towards the end...please review! **

**Life of a Winged Teenager **

**Chapter 17**

I woke up in the morning and rubbed my eyelids as the events of the day before came flooding back into my brain. We had to get an early start today if we were going to deal with that _Michelle _person. I almost shrieked when I saw the clock. 7:03, it read.

Blinking a couple of times, I saw the flock scurrying around me. Angel was carrying Total out of the bathroom. He was soaking wet. Of course. Gazzy crawled under the bed to retrieve all the bombs he had hidden. He came up with eleven or twelve of them. Nudge was tugging on her hair with the brush, trying to get a huge rat out of her hair. When she finally did, she was flung back against the wall and fell off the bed.

"Morning," Iggy said calmly as he handed me a plate of food. Eggs, bacon, and pancakes, let's start off the most horrible day of my life with a freaking normal meal. I almost miss the roasted desert rats. They're surprisingly chewy.

Everyone, while rushing around before I would inevitably tell them that we were leaving, no turning back, looked extremely uncomfortable and kept glancing in my direction. Gazzy met my eyes once, then immediately looked away. I ate my eggs suspiciously.

What was wrong here? What was I forgetting? This always happened when we were about to do something big for a mission. Last time we were on a mission, I almost forgot Total. He was never quite the same to me after that. ("I'm an important member of the flock, of all the ungrateful-")

And then it hit me like a ton of bricks. Fang was missing. Panic washed over me. Had he been kidnapped, or had he left because he wanted to? And if he did, why would he do that to me, right before we were about to fight? If chaos ensued, he was the strongest next to me. I couldn't do it without him.

"He's gone," Iggy sat down on the couch. "When I carried you in last night, and by the way, you weigh a freaking ton, he was asleep on the bed that I set you down on. He was right there." Iggy pointed, which was an odd effect, because he turned out to be pointing at the lamp.

I ignored it. "What about this morning when you woke up? Did you let him leave? Why would you let him do that? We need him today! If you screwed this up, I swear to God I will rip your insides out and replace them with clay! How will you fly then, huh, traitor?" By then I was panicking for real and grabbing his shirt collar. It would appear that we had drawn a crowd. Nudge, Gazzy, Angel and Total were all watching with shocked and interested expressions.

"He left before we woke up, crazy!" Iggy shouted, and I fell silent. I stared at my feet for a while. What had made him leave at the last minute, without even telling me? Something must have been wrong. "I'm sorry, Max. He took his stuff with him. There's no trace of him even being here."

"Will he come back?" Nudge asked anxiously. "We'll see him again, right? He's not gonna leave us forever…is he?" The interested expressions were replaced with worried glances.

"So he had something he had to take care of," Iggy said nervously. "Or something we did made him leave. But Fang would never leave forever. We know that."

After a moment of silence, I stood up. "Everyone eat if you haven't already. I want everything packed and ready to go in fifteen minutes. We have a lot of flying ahead of us, and we can't keep hitchhiking on planes. I have no idea what'll happen when we get there." I paused, and they just stood there. "Go!"

In the next few minutes, it was back to the way it was before as the younger kids shoveled the food into their mouths hurriedly. They looked like pigs, but what else was new when we had to leave in a hurry and there was a limited supply of food? As usual, Gazzy got most of it while Nudge, Total and Angel were left with only a few scraps and two strips of bacon.

Angel ripped the pancake Gazzy was eating out of his mouth and ate it in a flash. Gazzy growled and tackled her to the ground for the last piece of bacon as I rolled my eyes. Gazzy's eyes got blank and round as he willingly gave up the piece of bacon, and Angel cackled happily.

Iggy threw a box of cereal into the fight, and they all killed over it. In the end, Angel won that fight, too. She ate half the box before tossing it at Nudge.

I packed everything we had into our backpacks and ran for the shower. I was out in ten minutes when I changed into some clean clothes. I would have to fly with wet hair again, no doubt. It was autumn, still, and it would be cold on my head as we gained altitude, but it was better to be clean.

When I got out of the bathroom, they were all sitting on the bed with their backpacks on, like little angels, wings and all. I mouthed a quick thank you at Iggy, knowing that he was the one who had gotten them all together. I felt a twinge of pain as we exited, thinking of Fang.

We ran to the emergency exit and out onto the roof, the wind whipping around our faces as I turned to face the flock. We were all determined, and a little scared, more or less. "We don't have Fang here to help us," I said softly. "If it comes to a fight, it's a fight to the death, and we all have to take up his part. He had a reason for leaving. If it gets that bad, don't waste your time on the pathetic people they send to kill us. Focus on Michelle and the people around her."

They nodded once. Gazzy looked sick to his stomach, and not just from all the pancakes. Total looked braver than about anyone, but I guess it's easier when you don't _really _have to fight, you just sit there in Angel's coat barking noisily at anyone who tries to punch her.

"Why is it that all the important people have blocked me out of their heads?" Angel asked absently. "I tried to control that blonde bitch's mind. All I got was, like, happy feelings. It's really creepy. It's like she's trying to take over the world with smiley faces."

"Language, Angel," I warned. "But you're right. It seemed like nothing could stop her and her perky attitude, not even that door that hit her in the face. No villain's ever that happy, that's why she had us fooled. All of us but Fang. He saw this coming, knew that they would just be trying to earn our trust. It's funny that he got us this far and now he's not here." I fell silent again.

I turned around and let the wind blow in my face, sprawling my hair back over my shoulders. I took a deep breath and took a running start. I heard the footsteps of the flock running behind me, and I launched myself over the edge and into the air. I enjoyed a moment of peace and rushing air before I spread my wings, ignoring the quick jab of pain, and soared above the clouds.

The thing with soaring above the clouds is that it's not really a calming, happy thing when you're supposed to be on a mission. You can't see the ground, so you have no freaking idea where you are. All I could rely on was that we were going north, which was where we needed to go, in any case. We were going back to Nunavut.

"We're actually about halfway there," I informed them. "We flew so much yesterday that we only have a few hours of flying today. We all have to keep an eye out for signs that tell us where we are, so someone yell if we're getting near Canada anytime soon."

"By a few hours, you mean about eight hours," Nudge said irritably. "Why couldn't those idiots build their stupid Itex branch somewhere _normal, _like _in the United States_?" She rolled her eyes. "Not that there's anything wrong with Canadians, but it's so _far_."

"Max, what if they have another giant flesh thingy waiting for us when we get there, like they did at the school back in Arizona? They're the ones that made it!" Nudge started to panic. "I hope it doesn't kill anymore people, that was so sad and what if one of us gets killed, I'll never be able to live with myself if one of you got killed, if I've never told you, I love you guys so much, like, so, so much-" Gazzy had taken off his shoe and thrown it at her.

Well, that was awkward because the shoe dropped like a rock. Nudge smirked as Gazzy dove after it, chasing it for about fifty feet before finally catching it. I thought for a minute about what she had said. There probably would be another hulk thing waiting for us. And we didn't have Fang and a machete to stop it this time. Come to think of it, where had Fang gotten the machete? I still wondered about that.

As I described last time we had to fly up here, flying is insanely boring. But it wasn't nearly as bad as plane-hitchhiking. It wasn't like the plane just teleported you. You sat for two or three hours with a crick in your neck, because if you moved it, it would freaking snap off. Out here, you could move.

The first and second hours went smoothly enough, because we hadn't been up in the air long enough for us to be driven crazy by the sound of Gazzy and Iggy playing I Spy –how ironic- or Angel and Nudge staring down at little cows and claiming that they were cute. We were flying in silence, each of us thinking, more or less on the same lines. I was thinking about what would happen if we did die, Iggy was probably thinking that he would never be able to cook again if he died.

The third hour was really starting to get boring. The wanting to kill each other part of it hadn't exactly settled in yet, but we were all bored out of our minds. Once again, there was nothing to do in the air, so Iggy was getting sicker and sicker of constantly veering off in the wrong direction while Gazzy corrected him.

By the fourth hour, tensions were rising. We hadn't had a break –not that I was going to give them one- and we were really starting to get on each other's nerves. Iggy and Gazzy's little games were really getting old, and I wanted to kill Nudge for chattering on and on to Angel. If Fang was here, maybe I wouldn't be so bothered, because no one would care or notice if we held hands when we were flying.

The fifth hour was literally torturous. Gazzy and Angel started arguing about which type of cow was better, a brown cow or a "cute little dairy" cow. I'm sure you can guess who was on what side. With Fang gone and me being to tired, Angel won by "convincing" Gazzy to choose the dairy cow.

The sixth hour was positively gross. Gazzy and Angel flew next to me while trying to drown out the sound of Iggy and Nudge and their little love fest. And by that, I mean that they were kissing. Like, you could hear it. So, Gazzy, Angel and I started a very intriguing conversation about poverty in China, which was the first thing Angel could think of after staring at the "Made in China" sticker on my backpack.

The seventh hour came, and I cracked. Iggy and Nudge were apart again, but I had had it. "Enough!" I shrieked, Gazzy stopping his loop-de-loop in midair, dropping a few feet before hovering behind me. "No more I Spy, or making out, or poverty in China! I can't take it anymore! Everyone shut up!"

Nudge elbowed Iggy. "Bitter!" she said in a singsong voice. I rolled my eyes. Okay, so maybe I was a _little _jealous that she had Iggy and I didn't have anyone. Why? Oh, because my freaking boyfriend decided to take a day off on _the most important day in saving the world history_.

And then, at the end of the eighth hour, I saw something that literally saved my life. In the distance, I could just make out the shape of the Itex headquarters, nestled in the mountains. I tucked in my wings and free-fell to the rocks below. The flock did the same. Of course, we couldn't be seen from the air. I'd just rather be shot at on the ground.

About twenty feet from the ground, I fanned my wings out behind me and fluttered like a little butterfly to the ground. Ah, no. What happened was that I _forgot _to fan out my wings until the last minute, so I snapped them out and then I did a faceplant in the dirt, tumbling over my own feet as Iggy snorted behind me.

A few minutes later, we were all sitting in a circle, all bundled up in our warm coats and hats and scarves, keeping close together to conserve body heat. We were eating saltine crackers and peanut butter and beef jerky. In a few minutes, after we rested, we knew we'd be going inside. To what, we didn't know.

The food was put away after a few hours of eating, talking, and resting, and we took it slowly, because we weren't looking forward to any of this. We were about to do this without Fang, and we didn't even know what we were going to do. For what wasn't the first time and wouldn't be the last, I had absolutely no plan. I didn't know what was going to happen.

We stood up and looked over the mountains to the enormous building. I reminded myself that with Nudge's power and Angel's fire-thing, we could probably do this. But if they had the hulk thing? I didn't want to admit it, but it seemed like we had absolutely no chance. Was it really Fang that gave me this much courage, every time he was with me?

"Let's get going," I said solemnly as I started down the mountainside. We had worn earth-colored clothing so that we wouldn't be seen, and we slipped down as quickly and quietly as possible. I felt like my hands and feet were going to fall off, but it wasn't intolerable. The sun was going down, and it was getting harder to see. We were all struggling not to slip on rocks and go plummeting to our death or give away our position. We almost tripped hundreds of times.

In a few minutes, the sun went down completely, and it was nearly impossible to see. We couldn't light flashlights or anything, so the only thing helping us was our raptor vision, and even now it wasn't doing its job properly. A searchlight went up, scanning for intruders. I felt strangely like a Jew in a Nazi death camp. I had learned about one or two things at the school in Virginia.

When the searchlight reached us, we dropped silently to the ground, just like ninjas. I felt proud for the flock and the good job that they were doing as we crawled to avoid it. I myself hid inside a very large rock. "This is insane," Gazzy whispered as he dragged Iggy behind a bush. A few more seconds and the searchlight went on its way.

We knew we didn't have much time before it came around again. We all picked up the pace as we ran swiftly to the base of the mountain. The headquarters were just across the valley. I turned around with my back to the headquarters to look at my light-up watch, and it was really only eight o' clock, even though it was pitch black.

Before the searchlight even came around again, we were to the headquarters. We were hidden behind the enormous fence, at a blind spot where the guards couldn't see us. Last time, they had just let us walk in. Now, we were in for maximum security guards and security cameras everywhere. The guard towers were a good fifty feet above us, so I kicked down a section of the fence that the security cameras weren't watching, making a clear path for us to get inside.

The cameras were aimed accurately at the front doors. It would take a miracle to get us through that way, so it was clear that we'd be taking another way. I had an idea as I grabbed Angel's hand and hurried her over to the edge of the building. Once we were safely past the cameras, I turned to her.

"Angel, can you read any minds on the other side of this wall? Are there any people in the next room?" Angel looked puzzled, but did as I asked. She craned her head into the wall and tried to pick up on any thoughts. She nodded her head to show that there weren't any, that the room behind the wall was completely empty. In one fluid motion, I'd kicked an enormous hole in the wall.

"Go, go!" I hurried them through. It was risky, and we had to hurry. We had to be gone before anyone came to see what the noise was. And I knew that they were waiting for me. They would know that I did it and have people searching for me, and by the time they did, we'd have to be gone. I led the flock to the next hallway over and we got into an elevator quickly. I took a deep breath when the doors closed.

There was a small caption under floor 34, the top floor. That was where the enormous auditorium/gymnasium thing was that they had summoned us to last time, where all the scientist were that were claiming that they didn't want to hurt us or perform tests on us, which had been the biggest lie since the words "I'm from the government, I'm here to help".

I pressed the button easily and we rode up to the top floor slowly. Anxiety was building up in me, but we were already so far in. We couldn't turn back now, not ever. We were going to end this, because it was next on our to-do list for saving the world.

The elevator stopped suddenly, and the intercom went on. "Attention, staff, there's been a breach in security. All personel to the first floor. Repeat, all personel to the first floor." It was as I had thought. They knew that I was here, and they were out to kill us. Little did they know that we were riding in the elevator as they spoke, and we were getting to their precious Michelle before they could save her.

"Do you think they know it's you?" Iggy asked anxiously.

"Who else would do this?" I answered. "Of course they know." The elevator was on floor fifteen now as it started up again. Sixteen...seventeen... "In seventeen floors, this is it, guys. Let's hope that it's just Michelle, but something tells me that it's gonna be a lot bigger than that." Surprisingly, no one looked too terribly pleased.

The elevator stopped in front of the door that led to the auditorium. I took a deep breath as I yanked it open to reveal a pitch-black room with a single yellow spotlight in the center of the room. And in the center of the spotlight, you guessed it, was Michelle. Her back was turned to us, and her head was downcast. There was an eerie silence in the room as our footsteps echoed.

Gazzy pulled out a bomb and put one in Iggy's outstretched hand. Angel looked murderous, and Nudge's eyes were flickering between red and brown. Michelle didn't even look up as she spoke to me. "Max," she said in a condescending tone. "I knew you'd come. You can't resist. You can't be made a fool of, but now it's gotten the best of you. You should never of come. You'll never leave alive."

"Why are you doing this?" I whispered, but I knew she heard me. "What's your plan? Why do you want to take over the world so badly?"

"I work for Itex," she chuckled. "You see, Max, humans really can't be trusted. They put a leader on a pedestal and make wars. They kill each other on a day-to-day basis, and they're highly irrisponsible. They've polluted the earth with war and hate and most importantly, greenhouse gasses and the warming of the earth. It's happening faster than you think, Max, and it won't take a thousand years. This could happen in the next ten months."

She smirked as she continued. "The Itex corporation has decided to put an end to the silly squabbles of humans. A select few have been chosen to work here, the geniuses and scientists of the world. We have some of every race, enough to keep everything going while we take over the world and restore order to humanity. They have proven they aren't responsible enough to live on their own, so we'll be doing the running of the world for them." She smiled wickedly.

"Mr. Chu, the Director and the Uber-Directer were all weaklings who didn't see Itex's true potential. They were far too forgiving to humans for what they've done, and they weren't harsh enough to do anything. They were all eliminated quickly enough. We've exterminated them," she smiled as we looked on in horror. "To prevent the world from being destroyed, we're taking over. But there's a catch," she warned.

A small syringe hung in her hand. It glistened in the light as she smiled devilishly at it. There was liquid in it, green, slimy liquid. "This," she proclaimed, "Is what we're going to use to help us. In this syringe, that will soon be made into a gas, is a formula that will change the genetic makeup of humans. It will give them essential features to keep them safe and adapt to life on a new kind of planet."

"But," she continued, "To maintain order and keep the peace within the country and the world, this little formula takes away the human free will. To everyone who has been injected with this," she held it up, "they will be submissive and totally obediant to the one who has this." And she pulled out another syringe, with purple liquid instead. And without warning, she injected the liquid into her own arm. But what could we do to stop her? She had all the control.

"So, let's play a little game. If you can't take the liquid from me, and this is the _only _syringe of liquid in existance, the whole world falls under my control the very second we put this in a water bottle or in the yearly flu shot. If you can't take this syringe from me, the world is _over, _and you've failed to save it. Your mission will be a joke." She raised an eyebrow. "So, Max, would you like to play the game? Well, you don't really have a choice."

And then the lights went on. In the stands were hundreds of Erasers, all snarling, all with overlarge teeth, all ready to jump out of the stands and kill us where we stood. They were vicious, and they were ready for us. She had known we were coming, and she had an entire army ready to slaughter us. Nudge grinned as her eyes went completly red, and sparks flew from Angel's fingertips.

But that wasn't all. Right there, in the middle of the auditorium, standing right behind the director, were three more prototypes of the hulk thing. Even more advanced, they were at least twenty feet tall. Michelle smirked as she held up the green syringe. "Let the games begin," she whispered.

**Oh noes. What will happen to Max and the others? *sadistic chuckle* Eh, like I said, review! ^^**

**~Rachel**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N - Okay. Last week, I found out that there were hundreds of viruses on my computer, so we had to have some guy get rid of them all. But now that they're gone, here's the next chapter. ^^**

**Life of a Winged Teenager **

**Chapter 18  
**

Before we even had a chance to blink, Michelle had disappeared into the crowd of Erasers and they were advancing on us. A second later, she reappeared on top of a platform at the back of the auditorium, now behind her minions. The Erasers were crawling with agonizing slowness down the sides of the stands and down upon us. They were only about thirty feet away.

I looked around me. We were looking at hundreds of Erasers, all normal Erasers that we had fought before, but there were far too many for the five of us. The three hulk-things at the back of the auditorium looked upgraded, too, much worse than even the one that we had fought at that school back in Arizona.

Nudge's brown eyes had given way to the red ones, and the familiar trace of evil appeared on her features. Angel's eyes were now almost completely yellow-white, and about to blow. Twenty feet…ten feet…the Erasers were thrown back as Angel issued the first fire blast of the war.

"Go, go, go!" I shouted as I launched myself at them, smashing my fist into a nose and snapping my leg out, tripping another. Gazzy tossed a bomb into the huge crowd of Erasers, and I was rocked back on my heels and then tossed aside like a toy as the entire building shook. Erasers lay strewn all over the floor, but not nearly enough. There were hundreds more.

Angel was showing no mercy. She bumped against me once, but she didn't recognize me. She plowed right past me and swept her eyes across the crowd, burning down a row of Erasers, setting others on fire. Nothing could touch her, and the rest of us were afraid to go near her.

Well, everyone but Nudge. She was keeping up with Angel. I saw her power take place, knowing how she had managed to wipe out the School. With this new power, it was like someone had set off a bomb. She became a whole new person, a terrifying new kind of person.

She stretched her wings and flew up to the top of the auditorium, then dive-bombed one Eraser in the center of the floor. Her fingernails became long, hooked claws, and then she went ballistic. I'd seen bloodier fights, but this was almost too much.

Stretching her nails further, she swiped her arm around in a circle. In a matter of seconds, all the Erasers around her were mincemeat. It didn't stop there. She fell on five at once, scratching and clawing and kicking and fighting to the death. She didn't stop until they were all dead.

Fighting through the crowd, I got closer to her, but she seemed to be doing well enough on her own, to say the least. When we both went for the same Eraser, she sliced him to bits before I could even touch him. When my hand brushed against her skin, I nearly screamed in pain. Her skin, like Angel's, had grown too hot to touch.

Iggy didn't know where to hit or what to fight, so he was punching and fighting in every direction, not seeing everything but knowing that the punches were coming. Every time he snapped his arm out, it hit something, and he knew it. I was so proud of him.

Through it all, it was hard to think of Fang when I was doing something so important, but I couldn't help but wonder where he was and if he would come back to help us. Each time I thought of it, I fell into my thoughts and was rewarded with a punch in the mouth. I spit out blood as I continued.

I remembered the bombs that Gazzy had forced everyone to bring. I had them in my backpack, if I could only reach it. I braced myself as I snapped my wings out, hitting Erasers out of my way and giving me a clear path to launch myself into the air. I struggled as I soared above the fight.

Aiming for a clear patch of nothing but Erasers, I tore open my backpack, not even bothering with the zipper. I pulled out three bombs and activated them. I had to be quick. My eyes scanned the auditorium for a good spot.

I didn't waste any bombs on the hulk things, because I knew from the last time we had fought them that they couldn't be killed with bombs or powers. The only way for them to be killed was for them to be dismembered and/or mutilated. You can bet that being squeamish wasn't an issue after fourteen years like this.

I aimed and threw the bomb straight into the center of the Erasers, and cleared out of the area as I threw the other two bombs. In a matter of seconds, they had exploded, and a flood of Erasers fell to the ground. I dropped to the floor next to Gazzy. I hadn't packed as many bombs as I would have liked.

Gazzy grinned as he pulled out five more bombs and flew into the air. That little brat had stolen those from me! I shook my head as I continued the fighting. I could no longer see the others. Angel and Nudge were advancing toward the front and the hulk-things, and Iggy was somewhere in the middle of the fight. I was still at the back of the auditorium, holding the Erasers where I was to give Nudge and Angel room.

I stopped attacking and started dodging punches as I made my way toward the middle. The Erasers that were attacking surged after me, but I was too fast, and soon I could see a flash of strawberry-blonde hair in the sea of fur and teeth and claws.

"Iggy!" I shouted, kicking Erasers aside and pulling him away from his fight with a particularly puny one, but after all, he was the blind guy. I tapped his hand twice, giving him the leadership for the time being, and I was gone. I had a plan, a plan to get to Michelle and the hulks without being seen.

I pulled up my hood and tried to keep to the edge of the fight without being seen. No one saw me, because Nudge had started attacking the hulk-things. I kept quiet as I snaked my way past Erasers and to the edge of the stands. What I didn't know was that I hadn't gone _completely _unseen.

Two large, furry hands grabbed my neck and twisted me around. Three Erasers had followed me, and one was on the verge of strangling me. I tried to gulp in some air, but I couldn't, his hands were squeezing the life out of my neck. Why did these people always have to go for the neck and the waist?

I kicked my leg out and sent my foot into his stomach, knocking him back against the wall. I struggled to catch my breath while battling the other two. I grabbed one's fur and slammed him back against the stands, watching his eyes roll back in his head. The other caught the punch that I threw at him, wrenching my arm upward. I winced in pain.

So I did the only thing I could do. I leaned up and bit his wrist. He leapt back in surprise, but I hung on long enough to slam my fist into the back of his neck. The struggle stopped as he sank to the ground. I kicked all three of them to make sure they were at least unconscious, then turned back to the edge of the stands.

I looked around to make sure that no one was following me, but I was safe. Nudge was trying her best to hurt the hulk from behind while Angel distracted it with a fire show, but she wasn't doing well. She hadn't managed to slice his head off, I could tell from the foot-long scratch marks that hadn't nearly managed to decapitate him.

I turned back around and braced myself. In one fluid motion, my leg had made contact with the wooden side of the stands and kicked a good-sized hole. It was a good thing that I had decided to pack the steel-toed boots. I kicked in again, and the hole was big enough for me to fit in. I reached in my bag and got a flashlight, stepping inside.

It was like I thought – the area under the stands was hollow. There were support beams, of course, but it was easy enough to walk through. I followed the general direction of it, using the flashlight to guide my way.

I navigated my way around cobwebs and support beams, tripping once or twice. The place was eerie, but just because it looked deserted. I didn't suppose anyone had ever been down there. I didn't know what I was looking for; the end, I guess.

I pointed the flashlight in every direction, on the ground and on the wall, everywhere. I wasn't expecting anyone to walk up behind me, although I probably should have. Someone would have found that hole in the side.

But a few moments later, the flashlight went out. I was in total and complete darkness, and I didn't have another flashlight or even a battery. I started to panic. I tripped and slipped backward, expecting to fall and hit the cold floor. I was wrong.

I landed upright against what felt like another person. I picked myself up and prepared to fight, swinging my fist out. But it swirled through the air, finally hitting one of the support beams. I gritted my teeth, and the flashlight flickered back on. I picked it up and pointed it at where the person had been, but they were long gone.

Whoever it was had reminded me of Fang…where was he now? I closed my eyes and shook my head. It was no time to be thinking of Fang. The flashlight flickered for a second, and I knew I didn't have much time. I followed the flashlight until I was standing right in front of another wooden 'wall', just like the one I had previously kicked down.

This time, I had to be more careful. I was closer to Michelle and her cohorts, and I couldn't afford to screw it up. I sent a mental command to Angel, then backed up as far as I could. I plugged my ears and waited for the explosion as I pulled the hood farther onto my head.

In a matter of seconds, the stands were no more, completely exploded around me. I mouthed a quick thank you to Angel for the use of her fire-abilities, and took off. I didn't have much time to lose. Michelle had her sights focused on Angel now, and away from me.

I flew over the crowd and over Michelle, and aimed myself down, ready to dive-bomb her. But I almost dropped out of the air when I saw something that I had never expected to see. There, behind Michelle, was Fang.

After worrying about him for what felt like days, I was overjoyed to see him. I didn't think of asking him why he left, and I thought I knew why he was behind Michelle. He had obviously come to save us and rid the world of Michelle once and for all. So I swooped down in a graceful ark to help him end it.

But his head snapped up, and there was a cold look in his eyes. There was no emotion, not the same love that I felt for him. But why? Even when he was dark, mysterious and sullen, I could always see the real Fang in his eyes. Why not now?

His wings snapped out, and he launched himself into the air. Before I could blink, he grabbed my shoulders and shoved me against the nearest wall, hovering in midair and pinning me to it. The only problem was that I was against the wall…thirty feet above the ground. "F-Fang?" I gasped as I struggled to be free from his grip.

Without warning, he let go of me, letting me fall to the floor, right behind the hulk-things. If they saw me, I was dead, but I didn't care about that. Why was Fang acting like this, and why did it seem like it really was him, and that he really wanted to hurt me?

I started using my wings at the last second, cushioning the fall so that I was only slightly bruised. I landed softly, so their heads didn't turn and see me, but I could see and hear everything that Fang was doing. He soared down gracefully and landed next to Michelle.

"Thank you, Fang," she said approvingly, and it felt like a punch in the gut. He had meant to do this, and he was on her side now. That was why he hadn't shown up this morning. He had left to work for _her. _I felt myself crying before I could register a coherent thought.

The Erasers saw me and lunged for me. I got up quickly, rage and hurt stamped on my face. The second they got near me, I was punching and kicking and slapping like there was no tomorrow, just see if they could mess with me. I was seeing Fang's face on every Eraser as I hurt them, but there were just too many.

My head swiveled toward the door behind me as it snapped open, hitting three Erasers square in the face. What I saw nearly blew me away. There, in the doorway, was Ella, clothed entirely in black, black gloves, black sunglasses, she looked like she was a secret agent. She had two guns on her hips.

"Max!" her eyes widened. "I knew I'd find you here, but I didn't know I'd find you _here, _here…this place is so cool! You know, I hijacked a helicopter from the neighbors while it was parked on their lawn….was that wrong? Now, what are you doing?"

"Ella!" I shrieked. "We don't have time for this! That blonde menace up there is trying to get the whole world up there to obey here unconditionally, so if you can help, get rolling!" I kicked the Erasers aside and she threw me one of the guns. I climbed up the stands and jumped into the air, looking down on the Erasers. Their number had decreased significantly, so that there couldn't have been more than fifty or so.

I grinned and pulled the trigger on the gun, aiming at one, two, three Erasers until I was getting the hang of it, thinning them out. Ella had run out onto the floor and started shooting randomly, prying Erasers away from Gazzy and Iggy, despite being only human. She took down ten Erasers in ten seconds, and tossed the gun aside when she was out of bullets.

Taking karate as a child really was a good thing in this case. She kicked one Eraser into another, I couldn't have done it better myself. Landing punch after punch, she took them down one at a time, working alongside Gazzy and Iggy, and doing a better job than they were without even breaking a sweat. She gave me a single nod, and I was off.

"Wait!" she called, and reached in her pocket. She took it out and threw it to me, and I saw that it was a long, sharp knife. I knew what she wanted me to do. She wanted me to kill the hulks. She knew that I couldn't take Michelle down if they were alive.

"Ella!" Iggy hollered over the noise, turning paler, if at all possible. I didn't blame him for being afraid. Despite her being a bitch around Nudge and being a bit of an Iggy-whore, he had almost broken her heart at the school in Arizona. I wondered how he felt about her now.

I shook my head and turned around to face the hulks, a lump rising in my throat as I saw Fang standing with Michelle. I ignored it and flew straight at the first hulk, swinging my feet out to hit its shoulders. I could hear its heart beating even before I fell on it, landing on the floor with it in a heap.

I only had a split second before the hulk would try to strangle me or attack me, so without hesitation, I plunged the knife into its heart, ignoring the blood that flowed freely over my hands. In a few minutes, the heartbeat that I had felt beneath me had disappeared, and I knew he was dead.

"Max, get out of there!" I heard Gazzy shout, and I knew what was coming. I flew out of the way and over to where Gazzy, Iggy and Ella stood, all of the Erasers strewn across the floor, either unconscious or dead. He held up a bomb – the last bomb he had.

"Here goes _nothing_!" he shouted, and threw the activated bomb into the air. It flew across the auditorium and landed at the feet of the hulks, who just weren't quick enough – or smart enough, I never could figure out why the two didn't attack me while I was killing the other one-.

It exploded. I mentioned that the only way to kill one of them was to dismember/mutilate it, and the bomb did just that. Basically, they were standing close enough to be blown to smithereens. Bloated, nasty smithereens.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Iggy grab Ella's hand, and I saw her kiss him on the cheek. It would have been sweet, if Nudge hadn't been right there. She didn't see it, of course, because she was looking at the bomb, but everyone else did.

I was only focused on the bomb. I was trying not to look at Fang, and for the moment, I didn't remember that he had betrayed me in every way by joining her side. Right when the bomb exploded, I hadn't been looking at him, but I should have been.

When the smithereens cleared, Michelle was on the ground in a bloody heap with what was left of the hulks. Fang was behind her, holding a gun and looking down at her blankly.

He held up the green syringe, and injected it into her arm. He smiled shakily, glancing around the auditorium. Nudge and Angel were behind him, staring. They had both turned back to normal. I couldn't believe it. It had been his plan all along to kill her.

I stepped forward. "All that time…you were just pretending to get her to trust you?" I ran forward, throwing my arms around him in a hug, like I would never let him go. He didn't return the hug. He remained stiff as a board.

He pushed me off slowly. "I did mean it when I pushed you against the wall, and when I let you fall. Just like you meant it last night when you told Iggy that we didn't belong together, and that I would leave you. Well, you were right. If we're not right for each other, just say it."

I gaped at him. "What are you talking about? I was…I didn't….I never…. Look, Fang, I didn't know what I was saying!"

"Didn't you?" he glared. "I don't like how you look at you and me. There doesn't have to be anything wrong with us, just because our life isn't always peachy perfect. I loved you, but apparently that isn't enough."

"Fang…"

"Just stop!" he yelled. "I never doubted us, but you always did." He rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes. "Look, maybe we should just end this. Maybe we should just break up." And that was it. I didn't feel like my world was crashing down. I felt…broken.

I didn't want to say it, but I wasn't going to get on my hands and knees begging for him to take me back. I wasn't that kind of person, and I wasn't going to start that now. "…Maybe we should," I whispered. It was over.

"Let's go," I turned around to face the flock. I got them out of the building safely, and outside into the cold air. Fang never looked at me, and I made it a point to avoid him. I felt like I was splitting in half, but the only one who knew that was Angel.

As we were flying, I missed how Fang would fly next to me, how I knew that I was safe because he was with me. I didn't have that feeling anymore. He didn't even feel like my brother. He was like a stranger.

When we checked into a hotel that night, I slept on a bed with Iggy and Angel, and he slept on the floor. We didn't speak one word to each other, and I knew the others were worried. Did I even care anymore?

That night, I cried myself to sleep.

**I'm sorry! Ella's back...don't think too badly of her. Review~! **

**~Rachel  
**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N - Another chapter! For some strange reason, this seems to be the story people want me to upload the most o.o Watever. I'm so happy to get the reviews. ^^ I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

**Life of a Winged Teenager **

**Chapter 19**

All wasn't well at the Itex headquarters. The flock had come, and they had done their worst, but their worst simply wasn't good enough. They had destroyed the best –but no the only- Erasers, three prototypes of their newest monsters, and someone they thought was the newest director of Itex.

But they were wrong. Itex could have rebuilt itself even if they didn't have the Director, but she was still alive. They had been prepared for the worst, and therefore switched Michelle Walters with another. Being busy fighting, not even Maximum Ride had noticed it.

Fang had been turned against her, and the flock would become uncomfortable. They would fight, and then split up. They'd done it before. And you know what they say…divide and conquer.

Maximum Ride would be no more after the newest plan was put into action. The Director was oh so very alive and well, and willing to fight to the very end. A storm was coming, and it wasn't going to let up anytime soon.

* * *

I woke up the next morning, expecting Fang to be gone. But he was still there, waking up with the rest of the flock. He certainly was good at concealing his feelings, if he was having any at all right now. He got up, packed his things with the flock, and even made coffee. I wanted it terribly, but I didn't drink a drop of it.

And I never met his eyes. Not once did I speak one word to him, and I wouldn't until he had either apologized or dropped dead. I managed to avoid him for the whole morning while the flock took showers and packed up their things. The flock and Ella definitely noticed the change, but they didn't say anything.

I knew that they didn't want to split up again, and I didn't want that to happen because I would lose them, but I didn't care if Fang lived or died anymore. He had been so heartless at a time when I was having doubts. I blew off the fact that he thought it was my fault, and blamed every single bit of it on him.

When we left the hotel room and took the elevator up to the top of the building where the roof was, we all spread our wings and prepared to take flight when Ella tapped me on the shoulder. My jaw dropped as I remembered something very important – Ella didn't have wings. The flock's eyes widened with realization –all except for Fang's, of course-.

She smiled guiltily and scratched her head. "Well, this is awkward," she began, but Iggy scooped her up into his arms, much to Nudge's despair. Ella in his arms meant no one on one time for her and Iggy, no sky-flirting and no kissing of any kind. Not to mention that I was sure Ella still liked him by the look on her face when he did.

This was not going to end well.

We took to the skies, Iggy having only slight difficulty supporting Ella, doing well enough on his own that he didn't need Fang to help him. Ella was practically ecstatic, pointing and laughing every time Iggy went through a cloud or she saw a jet that was lower than we were.

"Don't drop me," she warned him about a thousand times. I wasn't sure whose side I was on after all. Ella had practically saved me back there, maybe even helped us win. But Nudge loved Iggy, and she had known him for years longer.

Angel knew what was going on in my head. She knew everything about the conflict between Fang and I, and she was being forced to listen in on Ella, Iggy and Nudge's thoughts. Talk about a love triangle. Now Angel was even in the mix. Everything was so screwed up.

When we got close enough to the border between Canada and the States, we all shrugged off our winter coats and stuffed them in our empty backpacks. Mine, like the others', was shredded and worn, stained with blood from the battle. We hovered in the air for a moment until Fang saw a jet pass us by.

"It's just going up. There's an airport nearby," he told us, and I stared at him. Like that bastard had the nerve to speak. My eyes narrowed. "So?" I snapped.

"So…we're all worn out and tired. Let's take a plane." My jaw almost dropped to the ground, but lucky for me, the ground was hundreds of feet below me. Yeah. It totally made sense to take a plane.

"Oh, and I suppose I'll just stuff these wings of mine in a carry-on?" I asked scornfully. "Fang, we have no reason to fly on a plane. Hence the wings."

"Ella," he said simply. "Iggy can't carry her forever. Who wants to go on a plane?" he said, louder. The flock perked up. Nudge's eyes brightened, and Gazzy punched a fist in the air. I growled. This was my flock, he didn't have a right to do that to me.

"Where are you going to get the money for something like that?" I snarled. He simply held up Jeb's credit card.

"I took it before we left. I thought this would settle the debt he owes us for, oh, gee, what was it? Oh, yeah. Ruining our lives." He rolled his eyes. "Look, let's just get first-class for all of us, and then we can all pull that cute-eyed guilt crap."

I shook my head. I knew the flock wouldn't give this up. He had gotten their hopes up to turn them against me, and it had worked. I'd get them their damn plane, but I sure as hell wasn't going to be happy about it.

"Let's go," I groaned, aiming myself downward and in the airport's general direction. The flock followed me, freefalling. Ella was clinging to Iggy for dear life, their combined weight causing them to drop like rocks. He beat us there, and we were in the parking lot of the airport.

Well, since we had already been in an airport recently, we didn't just walk around pointing like a bunch of hillbillies who'd never seen a television before. I ushered them to buy tickets, letting them wander around for a few minutes as I snatched Jeb's credit card from Fang and proceeded to get seven coach seats.

"Screw that," Fang said, interrupting me and cutting in front of me. "We want seven first class seats for the first plane to Phoenix you've got, please." He smiled sweetly and got us the tickets, then turned around. "Was that so hard?"

"I'm not talking to you," I scowled, then grabbed the tickets. "I'm tired of your stuck-up tone and your snobby comments, so stop being such a diva about this. You can break up with me without making my life miserable!"

I marched past him and rounded up Ella and the rest of the flock. We walked through the airport to the waiting area, where we were going to be for about an hour.

There were so many people waiting with us that I was becoming uncomfortable. Iggy and Ella were off in their own corner of the universe, of course, with Nudge sitting around me uncomfortably. Gazzy was off pestering some mother and her child, and Nudge was seeing if she could pick up any interesting thoughts.

I didn't even know where Fang was. He had become invisible a while ago, so he could be anywhere, across the airport or breathing down my neck, and I would never know. I was miserable. On the outside, I was angry at Fang, and that was true. But I also missed him, and I felt guilty that I had even spoken to Iggy about my doubts.

The next few hours were spent in silence. The others tried to occupy themselves the best they could, not worry about Fang and be happy, but it was a failed attempt, especially on my part. Nudge was moping about Iggy and I was next to her moping about Fang. So, obviously, the whole freaking waiting area was just a ray of sunshine.

When our flight was finally called, I stood up and shook Nudge awake, and grabbed Iggy's free hand that _wasn't _being attacked by Ella. Angel pushed Gazzy off herself and cleaned the Gazzy-sleep-drool off of her shoe before following me. I looked around wildly, but Fang was nowhere to be found.

I couldn't get on that plane without him. I couldn't just lose a flock member and have no idea where said flock member was. If we didn't have Fang, we just couldn't get on that plane, and that was final. Angel nodded and understood, closing her eyes and trying to hear Fang, wherever he was.

"Last call, flight to Phoenix Arizona, last call," a voice said, and I started to panic. He wasn't anywhere, and it wasn't that we'd miss our flight, it was that I didn't know where he was. I forgot how angry I was at him, how hurt I was, and my only thought was that I needed to find him soon.

But I didn't have to look long. At the end of the hallway was Fang. And he wasn't wounded, wasn't hurt, didn't have a scratch on him. And I was filled with rage again. He was dragging his feet, taking his time to slow me down, and this was _his damn plan to begin with. _

I walked to the end of the hall where he was taking his sweet time with determination. I marched up to him and slapped him across the face with everything I had, sending him spiraling back into the ground. He looked up at me in disbelief, but I towered over him, kicking him back when he tried to stand up.

"Listen, you ass," I seethed. "I may not be your favorite person in the world right now, and you're sure as hell not mine. But if you think that you're allowed to screw life up for the rest of us, you've got another thing coming. _You _are still in the flock, _I _am still the flock leader, and you _will _do what I say, _when _I say it."

I grabbed his shirt collar and hauled him to his feet. "Right now, I say that we're gonna get on that damn plane that you paid for with money that wasn't yours, from a father that isn't yours. You're gonna behave, and you're gonna be nice. And if you don't, I will kill you." I released him roughly and stalked away.

Closing my eyes, I counted three seconds before I heard the rush of footsteps behind me and a fist arching for my face. I turned around swiftly and caught the punch, twisting his arm and flipping him onto his back. "I just _hate _it when bastards like you attack from behind," I sneered. "So" –kick- "childish" –kick- "and cowardly!" That was followed by a swift kick to right above his private region just to scare the crap out of him.

I was knocked into the ground as his leg swung out and kicked my shins in. He was up in a flash, and so was I, ignoring the growing pain in my legs. "You wanna talk childish?" he rolled his eyes and gritted his teeth as I barreled into him, holding my own as I pushed his shoulders back, inches from his face but not even thinking of kissing him. "How about the fact that you whined to Iggy about how hard your life was, so we couldn't possibly stay together?"

"This…isn't…about us!" I snarled as I struggled with all my might to overpower him, finally ducking under and pushing him over onto his back. "This is about the flock, and how I won't let you ruin it!" I wiped my sweaty hair away from my forehead and turned around to see a security guard coming toward us. _Oh, shit._

"Hey, I got a report for seven first-class passengers who never got on board a flight to Phoenix, Arizona. I take it that's you guys?" He got nods all around. Fang picked himself off the ground, rubbed his head and scowled at me. "Is there a problem here?" Hey eyed Fang suspiciously.

"No, no problem," Angel spoke quickly and sweetly. In a flash, we had passed the security guard and were running to meet our flight. When we got on the plane, we immediately realized that most of the seats were taken, and it was three to a seat. There were three groups of three's, spread out among the cabin. We wouldn't all be together.

Iggy, Ella and Angel squeezed into the first three. Angel looked sick to her stomach at the thought of sitting for a flight that lasted hours with only the sound of Iggy and Ella's love-fest. Wait, scratch that. I was positively sure that Iggy would never do anything like that to Nudge, after what happened back at that school in Arizona. He had told her he loved her. That wasn't something you just forgot.

Fang and I went separate ways. Gazzy went with him, sitting next to his fuming rage uncomfortably and getting out the iPod that my mom had give him. I grabbed Nudge and took a seat as far away from Fang as possible, setting her down next to me. I could practically feel Fang's eyes drilling a hole in the back of my head.

"Please fasten your seatbelts and prepare for takeoff," the flight attendant's voice came through the speakers, and little buttons above our heads lit up, signaling for us to buckle up. I fastened my seatbelt and waited patiently for the pilot to get the stupid plane into the air.

Nudge was chewing off her fingernails and sweating buckets every time she stole a glance at Iggy and Ella, laughing and happy and having a good old time. She would lean on him and laugh, and Nudge's eyes would narrow. "Hey, Max?" she began, and I knew it was just the beginning of one of her endless little rants. "Do you think they serve those little peanut packs on here? I hope they do. I like peanuts. Do you like peanuts? I like almonds better, that's what Almond Joy's are made of…of course, they're also made of coconuts…" she trailed off.

"Nudge, what's really going on? You only get talkative _and _bite off your fingernails when you're stressed. Is it Ella and Iggy? Are you jealous of her or something?"

"I am not jealous!" she hissed defensively. I raised an eyebrow at her and she gave in. "Well, what am I supposed to think? That little twit was horrible to me when she used to be my friend, and I'm way better for Iggy than her! But look at them now! They're best buddies! Good pals!"

"So they're friends!" I rolled my eyes. "Nudge, you're overreacting. She's probably over him already and she just wants to have a friendship with him again. Where's the harm?'

"Everywhere!" she said, exasperated. "That's how it starts out, Max! The guy and the girl are always friends to start out, and then the friend moves in for the kill! They're going to see me as the evil girlfriend in the movie that no one likes!"

She burst into tears, not like Iggy even noticed. I put an arm around her, my motherly instincts getting the best of me again. "Oh, honey," I sighed, "You've been watching waaaay too many chick flicks." I patted her hair awkwardly and looked around at Angel, who had that _kill me now_ look on her face. I maneuvered around Nudge so that I was facing Angel and she wasn't.

Because then I looked up and saw what she had seen coming. There, behind her, Iggy leaned over and planted a light kiss on her lips. And this time, it wasn't her fault. He had done it because he wanted to.

It was just an innocent kiss. It barely lasted a second, and Ella blushed like mad when it was over, but all Iggy did was hold her closer in a hug. I let Nudge go, sending Angel one very important mental message – _don't tell her_.

The rest of the flight was one spent in silence. I had a million things to worry about. For starters, the world. Then, to top it all off, my personal life just had to suck. I had to worry about Nudge, and Fang, and the fact that my father was hiding in my mother's shed while desperately trying to figure out a plan to win back her love.

Yeah, I'm so normal.

When the plane finally landed, we all filed off quickly. Fang seemed to have calmed down some, and Iggy and Ella were at least acting like normal people instead of lovestruck teenagers. Every now and again, Ella would cast Nudge a sideways glance, wondering if Iggy was even still with her.

At the airport, Fang checked into the car rental service. I didn't have the heart to beg him not to anymore, besides, we were all too far from home and too worn out to fly. We got a minivan, and we drove out in one piece. Not to say that Fang didn't go hurling down the highway at 90 miles per hour, but whatever.

We hung on for dear life to the sides of the car and to each other. Angel, Ella and Iggy were in the back with Nudge and Gazzy in the middle. I was up front with Fang, clinging desperately to the window. For a split second, it was a flashback to the drive to the Chinese restaurant, and Fang smiled at me for real, if only for a split second. And I smiled back.

I blinked, and the world fell apart behind my eyelids. When I looked up again Fang's eyes were back on the road, but he was swerving, and his eyes were closing. My vision was blurred, but I could see the blood running down his neck from the broken glass flying every which way.

It was surreal as I saw it all blurred, yet perfectly clear. The glass sliced through our clothes and pierced our skin, and we struggled to protect our vital organs. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening. In the backseat, it was chaos as Iggy, Ella and Angel fell forward into Gazzy and Nudge's seats, who in turn hit ours, sending us spiraling forward.

My face hit the dashboard, sliding down with a sickening thump. There was a dull ringing in my ears. I felt broken, blood sliding on my clothes and my skin, and I didn't know if it was mine or someone else's.

Ella, being in the middle backseat, lurched forward, broke free of her seatbelt and fell at my feet. I saw her in a crumpled mess, and she looked hideously like a broken doll. She was only human, but it was cutting her just as deep as the rest of us. Her head slammed into my let, sending me forward again. She moaned in pain, a sound that I remembered as I slipped away.

I fought with all my will to stay conscious, knowing that if I blacked out I could go into a coma or even die. My eyes swiveled around as it was all happening, and just like that, we were spinning off the road, and the car was rolling, and Nudge was screaming, and Gazzy was sobbing, and Iggy…Iggy might very well have been dead.

My heart was pounding, and my head was throbbing like it never had. I was upside down, the blood rushing to my head, and the car was tipped over me. I was lying against what was left of the windshield, some grass her and there. I felt flames getting closer and closer, licking the car. I wanted to make sure it never got the flock, but I was pinned where I had fallen.

I was in a daze. Fighting sleep, I heard soft moans and groans and a stifled sob. Tears and blood ran down my cheeks, and were all that were in my mouth. I choked on the metallic taste and spit blandly, trying to raise my head. All the while the flames were getting closer, closer.

Police sirens were sounding in the distance. I had to stay awake until I got there, I knew that. But my eyelids were drooping, and I couldn't fight it. But right as they closed, my eyes met Fang's. And I knew this could be the end for us.

* * *

Days later, I woke up in the hospital. We met up with my mom and Jeb, who looked like he had been run over by a train, but what my mom didn't know was that he'd been living in her shed.

I was fine. My injuries had healed, and the rest of the flock was fine. Ella had a broken leg, a black eye and a lot of other bruises, but she'd live. Learning about all of it was like the aftermath of a war. I couldn't take knowing what had happened to Fang.

I still remembered what it was like to look in to his eyes. I loved him. I wish I'd never let him go, and I had decided that I would apologize, whatever it took.

That is, until he came into my room when the doctors left. He was on crutches, but it was probably just a precaution that the know-it-all doctors told him to wear. My smile was practically glowing, until he offered me a piece of news.

"Fang, I have something to tell you-"

"I'm leaving the flock."

**...How was that? REVIEW D: Please don't kill me. *cowers* **

**~Rachel**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N - I'm back! Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been on vacation to Lake Tahoe -yay!- but now I will be updating more frequently, hopefully. The new story starts on August first, HOPEFULLY right after my other story ends, so look for it! Bwahaha. Lots of jumping around in this chapter, I'm sorry to say. Not just Max POV anymore. Happy 20TH chapter! I never thought I'd get here alive!**

**Life of a Winged Teenager **

**Chapter 20**

**MAX**

It was the last thing I expected to hear from Fang, hearing those dreaded words that I'd always expected to hear from Nudge, never Fang. Fang was my best friend, my right-hand man, and more importantly – the person I was in love with.

It's always easy to talk about love as if a teenager couldn't have it, and that it would be silly. I hate to break it to you, but in our society, we have preteens getting pregnant and ten-year-old smokers. When you're a bird kid, who will probably only live to less than the age of forty, the concept of love becomes even more real.

Everyone needs someone like that. You can have as many family members as you want, but everyone needs someone to love them and support them. For me, that person was Fang, even if we were fighting, even if we were angry at each other, and there was no denying it.

And now he said he was leaving, after everything we'd been through together, after the tragedy that had just happened, after Iggy was being isolated because his condition was so grave? Fang picked _now _to leave us all alone?

I wasn't angry, and I wasn't sad. My mind was wiped totally blank of any and every thought, except for extreme panic, and the only thing on my mind was him. I wasn't even thinking of the possibility of _if _he would leave, it seemed so surreal. The only thing I could think was that it couldn't be happening.

Staring at him for a moment, he never once cowered or flinched, and he said it without expression or emotion, as if he was telling me what he had for lunch that day. This wasn't the Fang I knew. That Fang wouldn't leave me.

"Why?" I countered, just as emotionlessly. And if it was someone else, they wouldn't have caught the flinch in Fang's eye, because I wasn't asking him to stay. My conscience was screaming at me to tell him how much I loved him, and beg him to stay, to not let him go.

I ignored it.

_Don't let him go. You lost him once before, you can't lose him again. You agreed that you'd never split up again. Think of what it will do to the flock. Think of what it will do to you. _I bit my bottom lip lightly, not letting him see anything. He paused, thinking of the right thing to say. His eyes were unreadable.

"I could have killed my own brother," he said, finally. "I was so confident, right up to the moment where I ruined everything." Something in his eyes flashed, and I could see the meaning behind his words: _I feel so guilty. I could have killed us all. _

"The doctors want to sugar-coat it, but I know that Iggy could have died. Everyone has broken bones, but Ella's will take months to heal. Angel and Gazzy have scars all over their bodies. My ankle's useless, and you're bedridden." _Just seeing it reminds me that it's all my fault_, his eyes said.

"The fact is, I cause problems for the flock. Gazzy and Iggy have done their fair share of explosions, but it was me who almost ended all of that this time." He paused, and closed his eyes. "And I cause problems for you, too. You cause problems for me."

And I saw in his eyes that he was telling the truth. But why? I was so confused. "It's not you," he rushed on. "But we're too focused on each other. When we're together, disasters always happen. Isn't that the universe's way of telling us that we're not right for each other?"

I couldn't find my voice. This wasn't real. I don't believe that if you love someone, you could give them up. If you really love them, you'd hang on harder. So why wasn't he standing up for us? Had I really led him to believe that we weren't supposed to be together, after years of being in love with him?

Why wasn't I doing anything to stop it? Why didn't I say something, anything, to prove him wrong and convince him once and for all to stay? Why didn't I reach out to him, slap him, show any sign that what he was saying was _wrong_, and that it was hurting me? I couldn't cry. I couldn't move. I couldn't speak.

A small voice in the back of my mind understood that he could possibly be right, that we were too much of a distraction for each other to be together at all. It told me that we should split up, for the good of the flock. I was surprised that _the _Voice hadn't spoken yet, but my conscience was.

I ignored it.

That was when I snapped. "You're wrong," I protested frantically. "That doesn't mean anything. I love you, and you love me, so what's the problem? If you really love someone, you…you…you stay with them!" I was beside myself, so distressed.

He shook his head, unfazed. But he looked just like he did when Angel was kidnapped; sad but willing to do what he had to cope with it. "Max," he said softly.

"No!" I whirled on him, my eyes wide with shock and hurt. "This is wrong! You promised we'd never split up the flock again! You _promised_!" I cried hysterically, not unlike a child. "We're all supposed to be together to save the world! I need your help…" I babbled inanely.

"You'll have the flock," he said quietly.

"Don't you understand?" I screamed at him. "It doesn't make a difference if you're not there with me! I love _you_, Fang, I don't just keep you around for your help saving the world! Please, stay, please…" I trailed off, sobbing faintly.

I was beyond caring about being strong, carefree Max. I wanted Fang to stay so badly that I would go through any amount of vulnerability and humiliation just to keep him with me. So there I was, crying in front of him, and able to do so without a second thought. "You said you loved me," I mumbled, but I knew he could hear me.

I saw the change in his face, from soft and sorry to hard and emotionless again, but I never expected him to say what he did. "Max, I don't love you." My head snapped up, my eyes widening, if at all possible. I couldn't register a coherent thought. Fang just told me he didn't love me. He was lying. I knew he was lying.

"_Liar_". My mouth formed the word, but no sound came out.

"I lied to you," he continued, that same emotionless, uncaring, _unfeeling _expression on his face. "I didn't have the heart to tell you that I didn't love you, after all your little hints. You practically threw yourself at me," he half-smirked cruelly. Did he _want _to hurt me? Did he know how much it hurt?

"Then when you wanted to be a couple all the time, in front of the flock, could I say no? Besides, it was always easier to take your 'orders' when you made out with me in the same day," he continued, the same smirk on his face. "But enough is enough."

I felt empty inside. As cliché as it sounded, my heart broke right there, when I realized that he wasn't lying and that he didn't care about me; he never had. I was as good as or worse than Lissa or Amber, a sister that he viewed as bossy and pushy. So all the kisses were for nothing, every time I held his hand was meaningless, and all his smiles were just for show.

"Where will you go?" I asked brokenly. I just wanted the old Fang back. I wanted everything to be alright again, like it was only a few days ago when none of this had happened. I didn't want him to leave, and at the same time I wanted him out of my life forever. I didn't know if I would be able to forgive him for this.

"I'll be off on my own mission, don't worry," one side of his mouth twitched in the way it had before. But this time, it felt strange and unnatural, and I looked away. "You won't see me again; I won't be coming back."

His face was all seriousness again, and he had that same look in his eye. If he hadn't just snapped my heart in half, I would have said that he was having regrets. But you don't say something like that unless you mean it. So I mimicked the look, pretending I didn't care.

But what else could I do? He didn't want me anymore. I watched him turn around, headed for the door. At the same time, I was feeling so many things, but nothing made me call out to him to stay. And in the back of my mind, wasn't I _relieved_ that he was leaving so I wouldn't have anything standing between me and saving the world?

I was a horrible person for thinking it. And I almost felt guilty. Heck, I almost thought, screw the world. But Fang's head turned back around one more time, and my heart soared that maybe, just maybe, he was hesitating, and he didn't want to leave. That is, until he opened his mouth to speak.

"And don't worry," his voice was cold and hard again, and I cringed despite myself. "I'm not taking any of the flock members. I'm sure they'd love to take a break from your tyranny, but this is something I have to do alone. Although, if something happens, I could always come back. You never know who could stab you in the back."

For the first time that day, pure and unbridled anger settled in my stomach. If he was going to not only leave, but take _my _flock with him, then I would be left with no one while he screwed around on his little 'mission'. I would _not _let him take my family away from me.

He had taken everything else.

"I hate you!" I shouted with everything I had as he walked through the door and down the hall. "_I hate you_!" And I put my face in my hands and sobbed. Let that keep him away. Let that keep him from screwing up my mission. Let that be what kept him up at night.

The small voice in the back of my conscience told me that it was better this way.

I ignored it.

**FANG**

Max looked more broken than I'd ever seen her, even crunched up in that car. I knew it was killing her to beg me to stay, but she just didn't understand that I couldn't stay anymore. I made my expression cold and unfamiliar again as I spoke. "And don't worry," I said with just the smallest hint of a smirk. "I'm not taking any of the flock members. I'm sure they'd love to take a break from your tyranny, but this is something that I have to do alone."

I paused, registering her slight sigh of relief. And it killed me, but I knew that I was going to have to be even more of an ass. "Although, if something happens, I could always come back," I continued, watching her face fall. She was getting angry, I could tell. I was provoking her. "You never know who could stab you in the back," I finished, thinking only of her, how she stabbed me in the back.

So I told my conscience that it was worth it to leave, because she didn't care enough to want me to stay or to stay with me. She cared more about the flock than she did about me, when she was the only thing in the world I cared about at the moment. But she didn't notice my pointed look at her, so I turned around toward the door, not letting my shoulders slump, and I walked out.

Before I was halfway down the hall, I stopped in my tracks when I heard her yell at me. "I hate you!" It cut through me like a knife. But wasn't this what I had wanted? I had _tried _to get her to hate me, so she could _forget _me. I had accomplished my goal, then, hadn't I? "_I hate you_!" she yelled again, and I ran without a backward glance.

The flock didn't know. I hadn't told them. And I hated to leave when Iggy was in isolation and the flock needed someone to be there for them, but I couldn't see them, lying there, broken, knowing that it was my fault. It hadn't been just that, though.

I made things harder for Max, and she distracted me. We couldn't be good for each other when we were screwing things up all the time. I, the one who had almost killed us all, had come out almost unharmed, and that wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

I didn't believe any of what I had said. I had loved Max for as long as I could remember, sister or not. She was everything that I cared about, and the most amazing person anyone would ever meet. She wasn't a tyrant, she was a strong leader, and I had never believed, not even one day, that following her was a chore.

She had believed that lie so easily, letting herself believe that I hated her and that I had lied to her. It couldn't be farther from the truth, but it was something she'd never know. From now on, I'd help her destroy Itex. But I'd do it where she couldn't see me, and couldn't be distracted by me.

I needed her to let me go. If she hated me, she could do that easier. I knew I was leaving the flock, the only family I'd ever find. I was the worst kind of monster, but I'd live with it to help Max.

As I walked through the halls of the hospital and out the front door, several people eyed my expression and my clothes uneasily, like I was the kind of guy who was going to go home to slit his wrists in the privacy of his room with his parents never home. I hate those kids. They ruin my image.

I smiled wryly, hollowly, and made my way through the maze of halls, stopping in a waiting room to sit down. It still hurt to move, let alone walk, but I could deal. I grabbed a large newspaper, fanning it out in front of my face so that I wouldn't be seen as the tears slipped down my face.

Is this what it felt like, to cry?

**MAX**

"So he's really leaving?" Angel asked with wide, sad eyes. Ella, Gazzy, Angel and Nudge were all surrounding me, and we were mostly in wheel chairs because we were too weak to walk. I gave Angel a sad nod, not really wanting to talk about it, but I figured the flock probably had a right to know.

"Not leaving. He's already gone," I said, wiping my voice of all emotion. I had told them everything, about his lies to me and about threatening to take them away. Angel knew that it was all true. She was living it by reading my mind right now.

"But we don't care about the car accident!" Ella protested. "I got hurt, and I forgive him! It wasn't his fault, he was just trying to get us home. This is my fault!" She wailed hysterically. I rubbed my temples and screwed my eyes shut. I didn't need this.

"Ella, it wasn't your fault," I silenced her. "He left because he wanted to get away from me," I mumbled, the tears burning in my eyes.

"Max, didn't you say he was gone?" Angel asked uncertainly. I looked back at her and nodded. Fang was probably halfway to Canada by now. "Well, I don't think you're right," she continued. "I can read his mind. He's one floor down from us. But it's hard to tell because he's so far away."

Immediately, the fury came rushing back into my system, and I positively growled. I wanted to make him pay for what he did. No more begging and groveling, I was going to get back at him. And when I was through with him, _he _would be the one in isolation, not Iggy.

"I'll be back," I growled menacingly, wheeling myself out into the hall and towards the elevator. Pain and rage and hurt colored my vision, making me something I wasn't, a monster. But I didn't care.

_Why doesn't he just leave?_ I fought back tears. _Why does he have to stay? I don't want him in my life anymore! _I thought I could lie to myself.

I was so wrong.

I was almost ready to leave. I had gotten a few tears out, but it was time for me to start helping Max, I already had my strength. I set the paper down on the table, but jumped when I looked up. There, standing in front of me, was Michelle, the bitch from hell.

I eyed her curiously, unfazed. That's one of my many talents. "God, you just don't know when to die, do you?" I said, wrinkling my nose. "What, are you like, made out of a robot body now?" I held my hands up in mock fear.

"Well, yes," she said bluntly, then promptly grabbed my _ear _and dragged me out of the hospital. I clawed and kicked at her arm, but the skin wouldn't scratch or bleed. I gave up when she shoved me in a van and ordered her guards to get inside.

And strangely, I wasn't freaking out. Because I knew she wouldn't kill me. "Here's the deal, Fang," she said when she got inside and we were speeding down the highway at eighty-five miles an hour. "Obviously, I'm not dead. They just put me back together again."

"Start explaining, humpty-dumpty," I ordered in all seriousness.

"I don't have anything to explain anything to you," she growled. "And if you pull anything funny, I'll kill you. Your precious little flock isn't safe for long, Fang. Your expiration dates are getting closer, you can be sure."

"What do you mean?" I asked sharply. "You don't control the expiration dates. They'll show up on their own when they're old enough. We have longer to live than this!" I was panicked. And not for myself. It was for Angel, and Gazzy. Their expiration dates couldn't show up now. It was too soon.

"I do now," she smirked. "I have the technology to have them show up whenever I want to, and no one can stop me. That is, no one but you." My eyes narrowed. What would be the price?

In answer to my unasked question, she pressed on, "I need your help, Fang. You're not stupid, by any stretch of the imagination."

"Gee, thanks," I answered wryly.

"With your help, I could _save _the world, Fang, not destroy it! I told you, humans can't be trusted with their own lives. They need a leader, a strong leader, and you and I can lead them!" I inched backward, towards the car door, with my back to the lock.

"I'll pass," I joked weakly, while fiddling with the lock. I finally flipped it, grasping the handle and opening the door, when she said something that made me freeze.

"She doesn't love you."

I shut the door and turned to face her. "What do you mean?" I knew that she did, just like I still loved her. That was why she had wanted me to stay at first, why she had been so angry at me when I told her that I was leaving and had never loved her.

"If Max wanted you to stay, she could have asked you to stay. And she was the one that believed that you two wouldn't work out in the first place. She doesn't believe in you, Fang. Your 'love' isn't strong enough for her. Don't you want to prove to her that you aren't second, that you will never be second?"

"I am second," I answered. "I answer to her. She's the leader."

"She's always been your boss," she sneered. "And now that you love her, you can't even tell her because she doesn't love you back. She doesn't love you enough to want you to stay. So do you want to be on her side, or mine?" She gave a small giggle. "Don't forget, if you refuse, the entire flock's expiration dates will all show up. If you join me, they _never _will."

My eyes widened. I was shocked. If I could save the flock from expiration dates, I would. But was she lying? And if I had to fight the flock, would I truly fight them? If I was on their side, their expiration dates would show up, and they would die.

"Think of Angel," Michelle said smugly, and it was those three little words that changed everything. I couldn't let any of them die young. If I could save Angel's life, or Nudge's life, or _Max's _life, then I would. So I made my decision, because I had no other choice. If I had to give up my freedom for them, I would.

_Max, I love you. I always will. But I have to do this, for you and the flock. You'll never know, and you'll forget me. I want you to be happy, but I'm not coming back. One day, when this is over, you'll have a normal life. _

Even though letting her go was awful, even though the idea of Max and a normal guy together made me so angry I could kill, I gave Michelle a nod. She smiled, but it didn't make me feel any better. I eased back in the seat, closing my eyes and seeing Max. When I opened them again, she was gone.

_I still love you. _

**FANG**

I got down the elevator and to the front desk, glancing all around the waiting area. I didn't see him, and I began to get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. He really meant it; he was really gone, and he wouldn't be coming back. Wheeling myself through hallways, I was almost able to convince myself that I didn't still love him.

I shouldn't still love him. He had been a jerk, broken my heart and tossed it aside. But I supposed I couldn't really help it, at any rate. So I panicked when I didn't find him anywhere. He had really left us, all of us? When I asked at the front desk, he had been gone for about five minutes.

Five minutes and I would have gotten to him, gotten him to stay, I knew it. But I didn't have those five minutes.

_I still love you. _

**3RD **

As Angel was scanning her innermost thoughts for any traces of Fang, something popped into her head. It was fuzzy, and blurry, so he had to be far away, but Angel had a closer bond with Fang than other people, so she listened intently, biting her lip as she heard a few words.

" _Max, I love you. I always will. But I have to do this, for you and the flock. You'll never know, and you'll forget me. I want you to be happy, but I'm not coming back. One day, when this is over, you'll have a normal life. _"

Angel's heart soared. He did love her, and he hadn't left because of anything she had done wrong. He would always love her, and sooner or later, they would be together. But her face fell again as she realized that it was a goodbye. Fang wanted Max to forget him.

"Please come back," Angel whispered as a single tear slid down her cheek. "Please."

**ANGSTANGSTAAAANGST, huh? Don't worry, I have big plans! x3 Don't forget to drop a review! **

**~Rachel**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N - Last chapter - aaaaaangstbucket. D: I added dry humor this time, but I'm afraid it's going to be more and more angst towards the end of this chapter. Read it anyway, though. xD More POV alternating, I'm afraid. Bear with me here - I seriously cannot imagine what it would be like to be Fang and therefore cannot do his point of view well...forgive me! **

**Life of a Winged Teenager **

**Chapter 21**

**FANG **

It was past midnight by the time Michelle –you know, it's funny. We don't know what to call her, so we just call her 'Michelle' casually, as opposed to something like "evil overlord of death"- dragged me into what I assumed was the Itex headquarters. I had been blindfolded, kicked, elbowed, dragged by my ear and shoved into a plane, and I had still managed to maintain my dignity by staying strong and silent.

Always, always take a page from the emo book.

But it wasn't the time to be laughing. To keep me from seeing where we were going, I had been blindfolded and tied up, then knocked out and stuffed on the floor. And how did I know this? Well, I woke up in a _shoebox _from a several-hour flight, only to be dragged, again by my ear –well, at least it was the other one this time- into this new building.

She was clever. On every side of me, there were guards even taller than I was, and they were like freaking bricks, so I didn't manage to get a glimpse outside their box around me to see if there were any mountains or landmarks, anything.

But I knew one thing – the weather. It didn't feel cold, and although the sky was dark, it wasn't a slate grey. We weren't up north this time – we were somewhere tropical and humid. No, tropical wasn't the right word. It was damp and wet and denser than how you'd picture a tropical island to be.

Not like I had any time to notice that. Once my ear was released, we were inside. The little procession didn't stop, it just kept going, and I still couldn't see any of my surroundings. _Damn it! _I internally swore, and kept walking. I was doing this for the flock. I was doing this for Max.

I figured something out while we were walking, though. The place was absolutely huge. Being a not-really-short-but-moderately-average woman, Michelle walked very fast to make up for it. And if we walked long _and _fast, then this place was as big as the Itex we'd destroyed.

Yeah, must be nice to have your Itex headquarters destroyed and then poof up a new one in the middle of nowhere. Asshole.

Suddenly, we had stopped, and the guards around me disassembled to stand behind us at the door. Well. It's always good to know you're trusted. I looked at where we were standing, and we were in a huge warehouse somewhere. There was a whole hell of a lot of machinery, like an assembly line.

Temporarily forget the fact that being a bird kid, I have never actually seen an assembly line.

"What's this for?" I asked blandly, motioning around to the general blandness of the room. If this was the garage and I was supposed to live here, I didn't see any newspaper on the floor or a water bowl with my name on it. I glared.

"You mean you didn't know?" she asked quizzically. "I mean, I always knew that you weren't exactly the _brain _of the flock, but this…"

"Get to the goddamn point," I growled.

She rolled her eyes. "I told you earlier that I could use your skills for Itex. As in, you are now against Max and working for me." I nodded. "But that's not all. How am I supposed to beat Max just by having you on my side? Alone, you're equally matched. But she has the flock, and I have to rebuild my Eraser army now that she's _killed them all._"

I looked at her, nodding emotionally. "And how does that make you feel?" Slap. Ouch.

She rolled her eyes again. "Your job, Fang, is going to consist of thinking up the designs and all plans for the monsters that will be fighting Max. The three monsters that I kept by my side at the battle, those fleshy things –geez, I don't even know what they're called- were all killed."

She sighed blandly. "And because Jeb bailed on the mission and we have absolutely no idea where he is now, we need someone like you to make the designs. So here's the deal. We can make anything you design. But it needs to be stable. It needs to be able to kill. And if you waste my time, I'll kill you, and the flock's expiration dates will show up."

It's amazing how heartless a person has to be to say that all without flinching.

"What the hell am I supposed to do?" I didn't know the first thing about making monsters, let alone making phase numero quatros of gigantic-hulk-hellish-thing.

"Look, all you have to do is _draw it. Design it. _It shouldn't be too hard if you remember what those things look like. Just make one, but one that's able to kill Max." Perhaps she forgot one little detail. If I was making the thing _to save Max_, then why in the hell would I also make it to _kill Max? _

Nevertheless, she grabbed a pencil and paper from one of the desks and thrust them into my hands. "Take these and get working," she ordered. "I want the design in two days. Forty-eight hours. Get it? And if they're not done by then, I will kill you, and the expiration dates will show up on the flock." She smiled smugly. I wanted to kill her.

"You know, I think you need a new threat. You're getting a little repetitive," I said wryly. Slap. Blood in my mouth tastes even better the second time.

"Just get to work," she snarled, and left the room, her guards following her. The door closed behind her, leaving me alone. Tonight, I wouldn't sleep. I was as tired as hell, but I needed to get this done. If I did it this way, Max would have a chance of beating it. If her expiration date showed up, she had no chance.

I pulled up a chair and started sketching the outline of the last hulk that we had fought. Time to get down to business.

**MAX **

"For the last time, I do not have to be in a wheelchair!" I exclaimed furiously as the abused nurse pushed me down the hall. I thought I heard her give a sigh for the hundredth time, and I wanted to throttle her. "You don't understand! We people with wings tend to heal faster!"

"The doctor says you aren't allowed to move around! Your 'air sacs' were damaged, and so were some of your other internal organs! If you walk out of here now, you could bleed to death!" I gave an indignant huff as she pushed me roughly back into my wheelchair.

"The doctor doesn't know jack shit!" I struggled furiously, but she held my shoulders to the wheelchair. "This is just a misunderstanding! You'd know that if you'd just freaking _release me_!" The chair just kept going, with me stuck in it.

"The doctor knows more than a fourteen year old girl who has not had years of medical training!" she said, exasperated. "Do I have to sedate you again?" I crossed my arms, not unlike a petulant child. "I swear to god, I have never met anyone so hard to wheel down the hall!"

"No! I don't have to wear this stupid sling anymore! My arm is all better! Examine it with your X-ray or something, but I-am-fine!" I looked around to see Nudge walking down the hall with another tired-looking Nurse. She started to remove it on her own, to which the nurse fought with her.

"I don't need it!"

"You keep it on!"

"I don't _need _it!"

But then I heard other voices. Angel came out one end of the hallway, looking furiously up at the doctor that had treated us and insisted that she go on crutches. She looked straight at him, and his eyes went blank. "I will now remove the crutches," she said in an ominous voice.

"You do that," the doctor said absently.

"Why did you knock her out like that?" Gazzy practically screamed to a fairly young male nurse. Said nurse was carting Ella on a stretcher from the lab down to her bedroom. Hey, why did Gazzy get to walk without this stupid wheelchair?

"I get nervous at the sight of blood!" the nurse replied with a frown. Gazzy rolled his eyes. "Then what the hell are you doing working at a hospital, you idiot?" The nurse flinched away as Gazzy growled menacingly at him, dropping the stretcher and Ella in the process.

She smacked onto the floor and her eyes fluttered open. In an instant, she was up and in front of the nurse, totally prepared to snap his neck with a karate chop. "You knocked me out just because you saw my blood?" she shrieked. Her hands instinctively jumped up to wrap around his throat in a choke hold.

The entire hallway was in chaos. Many had stopped to witness Ella killing the male nurse, and strangely, no one had run over to help as she continued to strangle him. It all looked very funny. Gazzy was trying to pry Ella off the poor guy, who was getting his neck ripped off.

Eventually, Gazzy managed to pull her away. Nudge was getting more and more upset, her eyes always traveling to Ella. Iggy, even in the hospital, was oblivious of Nudge without meaning to be, like he didn't really realize he was breaking her heart.

Eventually, we were all wheeled into Iggy's room. Once again, he was asleep. He was always asleep. I never saw him awake anymore. I had been in a hundred times in the past few days, but that didn't make it any better.

It had been three days since Fang had gone away. Three stinking days of not seeing him and not knowing where he was, and three days of still loving him and wanting him to come back. Why had he left me? It became more unclear with every passing day.

Iggy and Nudge sat on either side of Iggy's bed, and I saw a spark in their eyes as they both grabbed one of Iggy's hands in the silent message that neither one of them was leaving any time soon.

We sat like that for hours. I have no idea how long we would have continued to wait if something hadn't interrupted us. But a few hours later, when we were all still sitting around Iggy's bed and talking quietly, a doctor popped his head in the door.

An alarmed look crossed over Ella's face, but I brushed it off lightly. "Hello, Ella? I need to talk to you," the doctor entered the room. Okay, that was really weird. "It's just that your X-rays showed some questionable objects in your _back_-"

"No, they didn't!" Ella interrupted. "There's nothing in my back. You can go now."

"…But this looks like there are other bones structured into your back, mixing with your other bones! It almost looks like you have something hidden in your back. It's very similar to what the flock has-"

"No it isn't!" she shouted, and tackled him to the ground, snatching the X-ray from him and tearing at it. "See? Nothing similar about this!" She gave a shaky laugh and stuffed the X-ray inside her jacket.

The flock was over sitting next to them by now. "Ella, is there something going on here?" I ignored her paranoid shake of the head. "Ella, tell me what's wrong now." I gave her a look, and she relented.

"I didn't want to tell you," she whispered. "I didn't want to tell you, ever, because it's something you never had to know, and it's something I don't want anyone else to know." She stood up and pulled off her shirt –I covered Gazzy's eyes- and turned around.

There, on her back, were foot-long scars, but not just any scars. Those were like the lines I had on my back, the lines that my wings came out of. But I could never truly fit my wings _into _my back, just scrunched up against my back. "A-are those…" Nudge's eyes were wide.

"Yes," Ella replied. And then her eyes scrunched up, all of her muscles tensed, and the slits in her back started to open. Out of them slipped two long, feathery, angel-white wings, as long as Nudge's were.

"Start explaining, now," I said hoarsely. Ella took a deep breath. "Well, I've always had these. Like, my whole life. But I wasn't supposed to, it was this big mistake. I would have wanted to be human, so they injected me with something that hides my wings when I want them hidden, so that I can pull them into my back by realigning my bones."

She let out that breath and then took in another one quickly. "I don't use my wings, not ever, and I have no idea how to fly. But I couldn't even tell you because no one is supposed to know that I have wings, or they might come after me, too, and I just wanted to be a human."

"But you weren't at the School!" Gazzy piped up. "You weren't at the School with us when the scientists were experimenting on us, so how do you have wings?"

"I was born with these," she answered simply, and that shocked me. I was the only one I knew of who had been born with wings. Jeb had told me that you can only be born with wings if you have a parent with wings and were born from a human mother. And as far as I knew, Dr. Martinez didn't have wings.

"Impossible," I countered. "I'm the only kid that was born with wings, because I was born from your mom and…Jeb, who has wings." I looked down at my feet. Everyone in the room gasped. It was like I was on one of those bad sitcoms. Nudge, Gazzy and Ella had been the ones that hadn't known about Jeb, or my hiding him in my mother's shed.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Nudge screeched. "Jeb has wings? That's like, wicked cool!" she thought on it for a moment. "But also creepy. I can't picture a grownup with wings. Or Jeb actually flying," she added as an afterthought.

"Okay, back to Ella and her wings that _she _didn't tell _us _about!" I shouted. "Ella, the thing is, that's impossible! I'm the only bird kid with wings, unless your dad had wings. So who was your dad?" I was near hysterics. If it was who I thought it was, there would be hell to pay.

She looked down at her toes. "Okay, here's the thing…" she began. "You're not going to like it, Max, because, well…"

"Who is it?" I whispered, deathly quiet.

"Jeb," she said quietly, and then there was chaos. The entire room buzzed as Angel jumped in the air and shouted, "I knew it!" and Gazzy replied, "Well, of course _you _knew it, but I predicted it!" and Nudge buried her head in her hands as she realized that now that Ella had wings, Ella could be with Iggy, and there was no chance for her.

But I was barely concerned with any of that. "Jeb is your father and you didn't tell me?" I screeched. "That means that we're _whole _sisters, and that you lied to me! Geez, how many times did Jeb have to screw our mom before he got the picture that _she hates him now_?" I raged.

"Why do you have a problem with that?" she was hurt. "I always wanted to be your whole sister, and now you know I am? Aren't you happy too?" she was close to tears by now.

"I didn't mean that!" I said, exasperated. "It's just that you didn't tell me! What other secrets have you, your mom and Jeb been keeping from me? I feel like I don't even belong to your family, yet I'm hiding stuff from you, too!"

"What 'stuff'?" she asked, confused.

"Stuff like the fact that Jeb is currently hidden in your storage shed because he still loves our mom but she kicked him out of her house!" I exclaimed. "And I'm the one trying to get them back together when I have no idea how, and frankly, it grosses me out!"

"You hid…Jeb…in our storage shed?" she seethed.

"What, you're not calling him 'Daddy'?" I hissed angrily.

"I told you I was sorry!"

"No, you didn't!"

We were glaring at each other, and in the awkward silence, everyone else was staring at us. "So what will you do now?" I sighed. "Are you going to go back to your perfect life, where you hide your wings every day like a coward?" I glared at her. "Just because you don't _want _to live the life we do? Do you think _we _want to live this life?"

"No! I want to go with you! If I have a chance, and I can help you, then I should at least try! I won't leave you alone! I'll go with you, once I learn how to fly!"

My head was swimming. So much had happened in just a short time, too much. By now, the others had gone back to Iggy's side as he slept, and were talking quietly amongst themselves. "What changed your mind?"

"Iggy did," she replied. "I love him, Max. I want to go with him."

I was surprised that she had actually admitted it. "Ella, Iggy is with Nudge. You know that."

"I know," she sighed. "But she was the one that stole him from me! And I know he likes me just as much as he likes her…I don't just want to give him up for her."

"Whatever," I shook my head. "I don't want to get involved.

"Hey," said a voice from under us, and we looked down to see that we were still sitting on the doctor. "Could you girls please get up? You're crushing my spine."

I got up and went to sit down by Angel. How did things go so wrong?

**FANG **

I would have been proud of myself, if I wasn't against Max and everything I believed in. Not that I wanted to be evil, god, no. But I had done such a good job on making the design, that I thought I was the awesomest thing in the world. Yeah, awesomer than fried Twinkies.

…Never mind. I had been thinking for two days, two days straight. And when I looked at the clock at the end of the second day, it was ten minutes until I had to present my design, and I had _nothing_. And I knew what that meant. If I had nothing, I would fail, and Max and the flock would get expiration dates.

And I couldn't let that happen. It was that they were too young, but it was also because even if they were eighty years old, I couldn't let anything like that happen to them. I didn't want that kind of blood on my hands. I wanted them to live as long as possible with no help from me.

So in the ten minutes that I had, I drew the outline of the hulk. I figured out how to make it bigger, stronger, more muscles and more powers. I knew it would be harder to kill, but Max could do anything she wanted to.

When the time was right, I'd _really _pretend to be on Michelle's side. I'd pretend that I'd crossed over, and she'd take me with her to the battle. And just in the right moment, I'd kill her again.

"I like it," Michelle had said when she'd seen it. "I like how you went for making it less like a hulk and more agile. And that you gave it speed." She gave the diagram to one of her assistants. "Make it work this time. I want everything to be perfect." She smiled an evil, blood-chilling smile.

"Good job, Fang. You can rest and eat now. Enjoy the calm before the storm." And she disappeared, just like that.

I knew one thing for sure. When the time came, when the storm came, I would make sure to kill her. I would do it for the flock, I knew I could. And when I did, humpty-dumpty wouldn't be put back together again.

**MAX **

"And Nudge gets…forty-five points for the use of the word 'synergy [1]'," I declared, writing it down. "Her E was on a double letter score and she got a triple word score for the Y." I smiled at her, and she bowed. That's right – we were playing scrabble. Iggy was currently lying on his back, and one of the doctors had found an old rotating scrabble board.

The entire game depended on whenever he rolled over in his sleep. Whoever had the most points when he did would be the winner of the game. So far, Nudge was in first place, with Ella close behind her. I wondered how Nudge knew how to spell so well, judging from the fact that she'd only been to school once in her life, and that was to fifth grade.

"Dang, that even beat Ella's 'opuscule'," Gazzy said, impressed. "That one was worth thirty-two points." Ella tried not to look all competitive and like she was going to rip Nudge's head off, but she was doing a poor job of it.

All of a sudden, Iggy groaned in his sleep –as he tends to do, and it's highly annoying when you're on watch at three-thirty in the morning- and rolled over to his right, knocking the scrabble board off his stomach and landing straight on top of Nudge and I. Gazzy cheered and Ella cursed, but Iggy didn't wake up for a thing.

But the cheerful mood in the room was shattered when the monitor beeped, and when we looked up, he was flatlining. Nurses and doctors poured in to the room, but his heart had stopped. It seemed surreal, and before we knew it, we were being pushed away.

Ella's hand was ripped from Iggy's, and Nudge's hands were torn away from Iggy's face. Both girls had tears pouring down their cheeks, and for the first time, they clutched at each other, having been enemies only a few minutes earlier. I held Angel and Gazzy close, and they both looked scared and wide-eyed.

I needed Fang more than ever. I needed him to be there for his brother, but I also needed him to be here with me. I wanted to hold him again, and know that everything was going to be okay, but it wasn't. Iggy's heart had stopped beating. He was going to die; he was already dead.

"Iggy, don't," I choked out, with my hand on his leg, the only place I could reach. For a moment, the machine started up again, and I thought we were safe. I thought he would live. In that second, I became optimistic again.

But then the machine started flatlining again, and it was real this time. I only saw death on his face, and he was so close to death. His heart had stopped and failed him again. And I couldn't help it. "Iggy, _no!_" I screamed.

This was the end, I was sure of it. I grasped his hand tightly as I waited for an answer that wouldn't come. After all we'd been through, could he really die?

The tears on my face, the pain in my heart, they all said yes.

**[1] This is seriously my favorite word. It has been for a few years, and I just remembered it again today. "Synergy" is the word for when the planets line up. Not the best definition, but the word itself is awesomeness, no? xD **

**Thanks for reading! Hope you forgive me for all that drama and stuff. Now, if Iggles had just decided between Nudge or Ella BEFORE he decided to flatline on us...**

**~Rachel**


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N - I finished this all in one day, yay me! xD Seriously, I'd hoped to update this one more time before I go on vacation, because after that, who knows when I'll be able to update. Rest assured that I will NEVER quit FFN, at least not for a while. Thanks so much for all the favorites, story alerts, favorite author and story alerts that I got because of this story. I must have done something right! ^^ **

**Life of a Winged Teenager **

**Chapter 22**

**MAX **

_"Iggy, don't," I choked out, with my hand on his leg, the only place I could reach. For a moment, the machine started up again, and I thought we were safe. I thought he would live. In that second, I became optimistic again. _

_But then the machine started flatlining again, and it was real this time. I only saw death on his face, and he was so close to death. His heart had stopped and failed him again. And I couldn't help it. "Iggy, _no_!" I screamed. _

_This was the end, I was sure of it. I grasped his hand tightly as I waited for an answer that wouldn't come. After all we'd been through, could he really die? _

_The tears on my face, the pain in my heart, they all said yes. _

I heard the sounds of the machine, the doctors shuffling, Nudge and Ella's wailing, and I knew that this was really happening. It wasn't slowed, and it wasn't a haze. Because that would have been easier. Real life, living the real thing, that was harder. I wasn't frozen in time. These were my last seconds with my brother.

"Why aren't you doing anything?" Nudge screamed at a particularly young doctor. He recoiled, and went back to whatever they were trying to do to Iggy. The beeping of the monitor didn't stop. I needed it to stop. "Listen!" Nudge bellowed, and the man turned back around.

"We need you to fix him!" she screamed, tears going down her face. "You're a doctor, aren't you? Why isn't he getting better?" She rammed her fist straight into his neck, sending him spiraling onto the floor. "You're just a stupid doctor who can't do anything to fix him! I bet you didn't even go to medical school!" she screamed.

"Call security," I heard one of the older doctors mutter.

"No, _you _call security, bitch!" I screamed, grabbing him by the collar of his shirt and ramming him into the wall. "Can't you see that he's our family? We need to be here with him!" I knew that by all rights, he was dead. Even as the doctors worked on him, he was technically dead.

He remained unfazed, and grabbed my hands, dragging me out into the hall. What was he doing? He couldn't make me leave the room! That had to be illegal! Iggy was dying in there. Oh, God. He was really dying. I had known that for at least ten minutes, and the bitter reality was still sinking in.

Behind me, I saw the other doctors shoving the rest of the flock out of the room. Gazzy looked crushed, as he should have been. Iggy was his best friend and constant companion. If Iggy was gone…I was afraid that Gazzy wouldn't make it. He was always my little trooper…but sometimes people break.

Just like Iggy did.

I beat my fists against the doctor, and I was the last to be dragged into the hall. I heard the sound of the door locking behind us, and I was pushed against the wall. I put my hands. Iggy was in there, and we were out here all because we couldn't control ourselves. This was my fault. All of it.

"Listen," I looked back up as the doctor that had dragged me out spoke. Like he still had the nerve to speak, but I didn't have the strength to fight anymore. I felt broken, but not for the first time in my short and troubled life. "What?" I replied numbly, tears shining in my eyes and the eyes of the flock.

"I've been a doctor for a long time," he put a hand on my shoulder, "And I've seen a lot of this, families that are grieving. I didn't drag you out because you were being a pain." He looked at Nudge. "You just really love him. And I understand. I'm going to do everything I can do to fix him."

Ella burst into tears all over again. "But," he continued, "I can't promise that he'll be okay. The chances are slim. I dragged you out of there so that you can give us a chance to work. Let us do our job. If there's even the smallest chance that your brother can live, I'll do everything I can to save him."

And he retreated back into the room. I stepped forward, but the door shut firmly behind him. I leaned against it, exhausted. If I listened closely, I could still hear the sound of the monitor. And it would go off and on. He was fighting it. He was fighting it.

A small tear escaped my eye, sliding down my cheek. It seemed like I was crying a lot more lately.

I felt four sets of arms wrap themselves around me, and I turned to look at what was left of the flock, united once again. "You were always there to get us through hard times," Gazzy's voice cracked, "So now we're here to help you." I took his hand.

We walked slowly into the main waiting room. I felt lonelier than I ever had in my life. I had lost everything in such a short time. First Fang, then Iggy? What was Fang doing now? Did he miss me? And would Iggy die here, without Fang knowing, or even caring?

The rest of the flock had fallen asleep quickly. Ella and Nudge were resting on each other quietly, and Gazzy had fallen asleep on my shoulder. But I was too worried to sleep. I was too sad and lonely to sleep. But then, it seemed like my life had a lot of that now.

I bit my lip. Fang. Why did I keep thinking of him? He had left me. He didn't want me anymore. He had said that he didn't want me, and that I had thrown myself at him. No matter how much I loved him, I didn't know if I'd ever forgive him for saying that. Because he'd meant it.

_Fang, _a tear slipped down my chin, _I thought you loved me. I loved you, and I never doubted it, not for a minute. After we split up…you promised we'd never do this again. I thought we'd never be apart. God, Fang, what did I do wrong?_

I felt a small hand squeeze mine. Angel looked up at me, and I almost felt like she knew something I didn't. But I was wrong. I knew all there was to know. There would never be a chance for Fang and me again. He had made sure of that.

**FANG **

Once again, I was in that warehouse full of machinery, the only light to be found was the small writing lamp that was on one of the desks. In front of me was a piece of paper. Michelle had instructed me to write down any additional ideas I had on a piece of paper. I was to turn in at least five by the end of the day.

_Figures. Second day on the job and she gives me homework. _

But my mind was wandering. My thoughts kept drifting back to Max. The sole purpose of my plan was to get her to hate me, to be happy about my leaving. But I should have known that it wouldn't work. I had always said that we were made for each other, and it would have been that way whether we liked it or not.

Was this truly what it was like, to live without someone that you needed more than anything? I had always lived with Max. Never once had I been without her, with the exception of a few months ago. My eyes darkened. _A few months ago. Ari. Europe. Separation. _

The memory was still fresh in my mind. It hurt like a knife in my chest, how she had chosen Ari over me. If given the second chance, would she do the same thing? Didn't she know how much I loved her, how much I'd always loved her? She meant more to me than she ever would have to him.

_If she meant so much to you, than why did you give her up? _a snide voice in the back of my head asked. _If you really loved her, you would have stayed with her. All that 'If you love something, set it free' crap is just for assholes. _

I slammed the pencil down on the table. This wasn't working. I didn't want to remember every little thing I loved about Max. She wasn't in my life anymore. But as much as I wanted to forget her, I just couldn't. And just like that, I faded into another comfortable memory of back when Max and I were together.

_Flashback _

_"Wow, this place is awesome!" Gazzy yelled, running in the front door and taking a flying leap onto the overly large sofa. So this was going to be our new home? It looked big, even from the outside, and it easily had enough room to fit all of us. "I call this bed!" Nudge shouted from one of the bedrooms. _

_I looked back as Max and Iggy flew through the front door and folded their wings in. "You can all pick your beds," Jeb told us. Honestly, I couldn't believe it was happening. We were finally going to have normal lives now that he'd rescued us from the School. "After that, we have some things to talk about." _

_I nodded once and followed Iggy into our bedroom, where Gazzy was already bouncing on the bed he'd claimed as his. Iggy waved it off, claiming that he didn't care where he slept, now that he was blind. I noted the smallest trace of bitterness in his voice. _

_My eyes scanned the room, looking at the two beds. I immediately settled to the one on the far end of the room. It had two things that I liked, separation and a view. It was about ten feet away from Gazzy's bed, and behind it was a large window, perfect for sneaking out at night to fly. _

_Iggy was onto me. "Well, well, well. Already thinking about sneaking out? Where are you and Max going to sneak off to first? The Grand Canyon? Las Vegas? The _moon?_" he teased. _

_"What are you talking about?" I eyed him skeptically, walking over to his "suitcase", which was really just a shopping bag full of a couple changes of clothes. "Alright, where are the drugs?" _

_He gave me an exasperated look –well, he gave the wall right _next to _me an exasperated look-. A few seconds later, we heard Jeb's call from the kitchen, and I followed Gazzy and Iggy out. The rest of the flock was seated at the dining room table, with Jeb at the head. _

_"We have something we need to discuss," he said as we sat down. "It's true that I'm going to be taking care of you, but if there's ever a time when I'm gone…" he trailed off, and I sensed something strange in his eyes. "Well, you need to have someone to lead you. One of you has to be the leader." _

_He looked at the three oldest, in this case, me, Iggy and Max. Because we were all relatively close in age –we had no idea when our real birthdays were-, we were the three choices. "Well, you can count me out," Iggy grinned, rolling his blind eyes. "Now then. You two – fight, fight, fight, fight, fight!" he chanted. _

_"No fighting," Jeb rolled his eyes. "Max, Fang, which one of you wants to be the leader?" And I knew what I had to do. Of course I wanted to be the leader. Please, a chance to be the official overlord of Gazzy? But if I said yes, the leader would be me, because I was a boy, and taller than Max. _

_"I know it's a big decision," he said sympathetically. "After all, you guys _are _only ten years old." _

_I didn't even have to think about it. "Max should be the leader," I said, and Iggy stifled a snicker. I kicked him in the shin under the table. She looked at me curiously to see if I had any ulterior motives. "I mean, she's the toughest and everything." They all laughed. _

_"Fang, can I talk to you?" she asked all of a sudden, and without waiting for my reply, grabbed my arm and pulled me down the hall and into the closet. She flicked on the light switch and stared me right in the eye. I knew better than to flinch. _

_"What's wrong with you?" she looked at me curiously. "This is your chance to stop Iggy from teasing you all the time! Why would you give that up?" She had her hands on her hips in that 'natural authority' pose that had always been a secret fetish of mine. _

_"I think you would make a better leader," I shrugged. "I mean, the next time you beat him up, you can justify it with your 'leaderly responsibilities' or something." _

_And for the first time, she looked…insecure? Maximum Ride, insecure? She looked up at me shyly. "I mean, you're a good fighter, you can fly really well, and you're a natural leader. It's just your place," one side of my mouth twitched, but by now, she knew what that meant. _

_"Look, you're a pain most of the time, Max," I eyed her skeptically. "But you're also smart, sarcastic, tough as nails, damn near beautiful, and my best friend. So you should be the leader." I said it like it was the natural thing. And it was. _

_"Beautiful?" she raised an evil eyebrow. Oh, wow. Did I actually say that? That was supposed to be something that I always thought but never said. "Um, well, what I meant to say was…" Major backpedaling. _

_"Whatever," she said quietly, and then she smiled at me. "Thanks," she grinned, and caught me in a hug. Maybe just this one time, when no one else could see. I hugged her back. And it was the best thing in the world. _

_End flashback _

And even _if _she wasn't part of my life anymore, I couldn't help but smile.

**MAX **

"Max," I heard a voice in the back of my head. And my first thought was that it was Fang, and that he had come back for me. But when I opened my eyes, I saw that it just wasn't him. It was the doctor that had dragged me out of the hospital room. The rest of the flock was stretching and waking up. "Max," he said again, and I rubbed my sleepy eyes. "What?"

"I have some…well…I guess you could say that it's good news. It's about Iggy," he added, and my eyes shot wide open. Seeing that he had my attention, he continued, "I want you all to know that we tried our hardest, and Iggy is alive." I felt that huge weight being lifted off my chest.

Nudge and Ella both sighed with relief at the same time, then looked at each other, startled and annoyed. Angel hugged Gazzy, who looked like he was about ready to pass out all over again. "But," the doctor said, and once again, the feeling of doom was back. "But he's not completely back to normal."

I was silent, trying to process that. "But wait…you just said that he was alright."

"No, I said that he was _alive_," the doctor emphasized. "He's not 'alright', though. He was very weak at first, and his breathing was shallow. There wasn't much we could do, but we managed to get him breathing normally again with the help of some medicine."

"Then what's the problem?" I asked. I felt sick to my stomach. Why didn't he just get it over with and tell us already? I hated how they always did this. I had once watched American Idol with Nudge. It had been the most horrible thing I had ever seen, but they always waited eons to announce the winner, always keeping you in suspense.

I felt like that.

"He went into a coma. A coma is a state of unconsciousness. A person in a coma is basically like…like Sleeping Beauty, unable to wake up or react to light, sound or anything else. We think this was caused from some head trauma he suffered due to that car accident."

"Dang, I thought it was his heart," I muttered.

"That was part of it," he answered. "But the point is, he isn't dead. People in comas aren't dead, they actually often recover. Comas usually last a few days to a few weeks, but I've heard of them lasting longer. He could live, or he could die. It isn't in our hands."

I was trying to stay positive. That was like a fifty-fifty chance. He could live, or he could die. And I was trying not to think about that. Iggy would live, I was sure of it. I had to be, if I didn't want to drive myself insane with worry. "How long…how long is the worst?"

"Well, they can last up to several years," he confessed. "But many only last up to five weeks. He could be back on his feet before you know it," he gave a slight smile. "Taking your ability to recover quickly, it could end up only being a couple of weeks."

"Now, what I'm worried about are not his chances of waking up, but what will happen once he does. Many people that come out of comas are in need of special care for the rest of their lives because they have certain disabilities."

"You mean, other than his blindness?" Nudge joked.

"Yes," he admitted. "But I'm telling you, that's extremely unlikely, and given his ability to recover extremely well, I don't think he'll suffer any major damage. Once he wakes up, though, it won't be right away. It'll take a while for him to get back on his feet again. But since he won't have a problem with his sight, that should help."

"But we can't just stay here for a few weeks! Ella, your mom will be worried sick about you, and God knows the flock has suffered enough…"

"We'll be taking care of him here," the doctor clarified. "We'll hold him here, and should he wake up, we'll call you and notify you immediately so you can be here for him. I'm sure you're very busy with missions and putting your life together and such."

It pained me to be "too busy" for Iggy. But It was true. I had lives to try to put back together, including my own. Without Fang. "Let's go," I said tiredly, and picked Ella up lightly. I didn't really want to carry her, but of course, Iggy wasn't going to be around.

_Goodbye, Iggy. Goodbye, Fang. _

**FANG **

Long ago, the paper and pencil had been pushed to the floor. I sat with my face in my hands. What had I done? I had given up the best thing in my life. I knew then that I couldn't give her up. I would always love Max. She wasn't someone easily forgotten, that was for sure.

I struggled to fight it. But another memory engulfed my senses once again.

_Flashback _

_I was sitting on my bed reading a magazine when I heard a scream coming from the bathroom. Gazzy and Iggy had gone a few hundred yards away to test out a new bomb, and Jeb had taken Nudge and Angel out to pick out some new clothes to replace their old ones. _

_That meant that the only other person in the house was Max. As usual, all the other kids were out, and it was up to us to keep things running smoothly. Most of these times, I just tried to stay away from her. I was old enough to know that I was in love with her. _

_I shrugged.. Not being especially chivalrous after living in a cage all my life, I figured that the snake or spider she'd found would just have to survive. I certainly wasn't going in a small space with no one but Max. 'Some kind of man I am,' I thought bitterly. _

_Turning the page in my magazine easily, I didn't exactly know what I was reading. It was one of those magazines that told you that Brittany Spears was pregnant for the eighth time and all that. I had stolen it from Nudge room. One thing about Jeb – he didn't buy entertainment. He bought food and clothes. _

_A few minutes later, Max came into the room. I groaned internally. Why couldn't she just stay at the other end of the house like she was supposed to? Didn't she even know how beautiful she was? But she couldn't ever be my girlfriend. That would be…bad. Yeah, bad. _

_But there was something in her expression that told me she was seriously worried about something. I put down the magazine. "I just came to tell you that if you heard a scream about five minutes ago, it's all good," she fidgeted under my stare. "So, yeah," she finished lamely. _

_She turned to leave. "Wait," I said quietly, and she turned around. "Something's bothering you. What's got you so worked up?" I asked. She bit her lip, then sighed and went to sit on my bed. Again, she had that insecure look on her face. I was the only person who'd ever seen it. _

_She sat on my bed with her back to the wall and her knees hugged to her chest in that classic uncomfortable fetal position. I sit down next to her. Whatever it was, it had her really worked up. "You can tell me," I poked her shoulder. She rolled her eyes, but it wasn't long before that small and scared look was back. _

_"Fang…I was in the bathroom, and...and…" she looked down. "Isortagotmyperiod." She buried her face in her hands. I took a minute to process the thought. I mean, I knew that we had the same traits as humans. We grew leg hair and everything. But I never even considered Max getting her period. _

_"What?" I asked cautiously, and out it came. She was crying, too. "Well, I was in the bathroom and I was on the toilet and you know and then I saw the blood and Jeb's not a girl so I couldn't talk to him about it but oh God Fang I'm so scared and I'm sorry!" she sobbed and threw her head on my shoulder dramatically. _

_"Sorry?" I asked in disbelief. "What do you have to be sorry about? It's normal." _

_"I know," she sniffed. "But you're a guy so I shouldn't be talking to you about this. But you're my best friend." My shoulder was seriously soaked in her tears. _

_"Look, Max, do you have any idea how embarrassing it was when Jeb gave me, Iggy _and _Gazzy the birds and the bees talk? I mean, at least you got spared because you're a girl! The point is, it's part of growing up, I guess. It's not that bad." _

_It was true. My voice had changed about a year ago. It had been pure hell at first. _

_"Look, you're twelve years old. It was bound to happen sometime. Just tell Jeb that you're the leader, then go to the store and pick up some stuff that you need, okay? He won't say no. You can learn all you need to know on the internet. And I'm proud of you." _

_"Why?" she asked, bewildered. _

_"I don't know," I shrugged. She punched my arm. I put my arm around her shoulder and squeezed tightly, and she put her head on my shoulder. I don't know how long we sat like that. But when the flock came back, boy, was Jeb in for a surprise. _

I slammed my fist against the desk, splitting it fight down the middle. God damn it! I was such an idiot. I needed to escape. Escape and get back to the flock. I needed Max as much as or more than she needed me. And I would never make this mistake again.

I leapt up and flew to the top of the warehouse, to the windows on the far side. There were iron bars on them, but I didn't care as I pried them off. I smashed my feet through the glass easily. But just when I was almost ready to climb out, I felt an electric shock go through my whole body, and I dropped to the floor, writhing in pain.

Michelle was in the warehouse and standing over me before I knew it. "Listen, Fang," she said softly, but it was laced with malice. "You work for me now. After all, you don't want the expiration dates to show up on Max and the flock, do you?" Shit, I'd forgotten about that.

"You can't leave. You can never leave. And I will beat Max. Remember that." And she was gone. That night, I felt more alone than ever, the memories of Max drifting in and out of my mind. I shrank against the cold concrete floor, missing holding Max in my arms.

That night, my dreams were only of her.

**Thanks for reading! I hope I made it more bearable this time with you all knowing that Fang still loves Max and Iggy is NOT going to die. I had to do a ton of research on comas, by the way, because I have no idea how they work. But I hope I didn't do too badly! **

**Reviews are loved! **

**~Rachel**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N - I'm slowly going to return the story back to normal now, with less angst and stuff. Not to say that you don't love it xD But sadly, this will be my last chapter before I go on vacation, so goodbye. Seriously, this site has ruined my brain. Now I'm probably going to be thinking about writing and stuff while I'm supposed to be having fun. CURSE YOU ALL! xD Thanks for the reviews! I'm over a hundred now~! **

**Life of a Winged Teenager **

**Chapter 23**

**MAX **

That night, we got back to the house late. We'd flown the whole way. I hadn't cared if my bones were aching, I didn't care if sleep was settling into my being, and I didn't even care that the flock was getting tired to the point of collapsing, thousands of feet in the air. The only thing that mattered to me was getting home.

Getting home. It sounded so foreign. Since we had beaten Michelle, what was the purpose now? Start a global rally to plant trees, clean the ocean and replace the ozone layer? We still had a lot of work to do in the environment section of saving the world, or so it would seem.

They say that if you love something, you set it free. And if it comes back, it was meant to be. I don't believe in that saying. At the time, I wasn't even sure that I believed in myself. Have you ever felt so exhausted that it seemed like if your light went out, no one would care, or even notice?

I felt like that. I felt empty on the inside, but on the outside, I was the same person I'd always been. Strong, fierce, attitude, it was all there, but I wasn't. It felt like the real me had left at the same time Fang had. And if you really love something, you should never have to set it free, because if it loved you back, it would never have left.

He should never have left, at a time that meant so much to us, when everything was falling apart. But I should also never have doubted him. I never gave him enough credit when it really counted. I didn't think he'd be strong enough, or want to support us. But he had, and we were both wrong now.

So if you love something, and you have to set it free, do it. Because if it loves you, it'll come back. But if it _really _loves you, would it want you to be happy, and have no more doubts, therefore not coming back? I think so. So if you love something, set it free. If it comes back, it was meant to be. If it doesn't come back, hunt it down and kill it.

As we landed on the front porch, I had already made my decision. The flock would rest on their own. And in a few days, if I was feeling confident again, as confident as I was now, then I would go after Fang. Go after him and knock some sense into him. Tell him that I'd always loved him, and that the accident wasn't his fault.

After all, if saving the world wasn't my destiny, I would never have chosen to do it. This wasn't a path that I just took. If you'd expect me, Max, with the personality and the loud leadership and her band of merry mutants to fall in love with a tall, dark stone, I normally would have laughed in your face.

So if Fang and I weren't meant to be together, we would have known before now. And I was going to go get him back. I was sure of it.

**FANG **

I woke up again around eleven o'clock. Here, the hours seemed to drag on and on, with no end in sight. The nightmare had been about Max, I remembered. I rubbed my forehead groggily, as if trying to erase the memories. But this hadn't been like the cute flashbacks that the day had brought. The night had been full of painful memories.

It was then that I realized what I was doing. What was I doing, exactly? I knew I was going against Max and everything she had worked so hard to prevent by helping Michelle now. Some part of me knew it was wrong. But the thought that was driving me was the understanding that if I didn't do this now, the expiration dates would show up.

No matter how you looked at it, if I could do something to prevent it, and I didn't, it would be my fault if Angel died at the age of six, even if it was already my fault that the flock was in the hospital. What were they doing now? Was everyone well, or was someone dead? I just didn't know.

Walking back over to the desk I had smashed earlier, I picked up the pencil that had been knocked to the ground and grabbed a fresh sheet of paper. If I didn't come up with ideas, I didn't get food, it was that simple. And it wasn't even good food, but it kept me alive.

I was taking my time with the ideas, stalling so that Max and the others would have more peace before the storm. Working so hard, and believing that it was finally over, their hopes would be crushed in days, or whenever it was that they found out what was going on. I hated what I was doing. But wouldn't you, if you had the choice?

The night continued on, but I didn't fall asleep again. I didn't want to fall asleep, in the dark of the warehouse, fading into the background like a chameleon. If I did, I was worried that I would give up. And I wasn't going to be any use to the flock dead.

Then again, I wasn't much use to them alive, either.

**MAX **

An hour later, we were all sitting down by the dining room table, even though it was well past midnight. Well, Nudge and Ella were on the couch playing with her old beat-up Nintendo, and Angel was asleep on the recliner with Total snoring slightly. So it was pretty much only me, my mom and Gazzy who were seated at the table pondering things.

I know it sounds ridiculous, especially if you're one of those girls who goes through guys like I go through chocolate chip cookies, or if you've never had a boyfriend, but ice cream is seriously like a creamy bandage for your heart. I'd figured that half an hour ago, and was now halfway done with a whole gallon of the stuff. Not only that, but I'd done it with an Oreo for a spoon.

Gazzy was splitting the remaining Oreos with my mom, who only liked the creamy centers. And that was a good thing, because he only liked the cookies. So they had a nice system going. My mom would neatly pick out the des of the cookies with a knife, and then proceed to eat them as Gazzy devoured the cookies.

"Fang is such a jerk," I mumbled over the ice cream. An hour ago, I'd been blubbering like a maniac. But who cared? It was my mom, for God's sake. It wasn't like she was going to judge me. She nodded for the hundredth time. "Sure, sweetie. A jerk. A big jerk."

"I mean, he promised!" I said for the eighteenth time, taking another big chunk of ice cream. Chocolate chip cookie dough, of course. "He promised he'd never leave us again!" And I proceeded to devour said bite. Gazzy and my mom nodded sympathetically. It was silent after that. I didn't really have much more to say.

I looked over to the couch, where Ella and Nudge sat, playing some really old racing game on a really small TV. I knew what they were doing. They were trying to distract themselves from Iggy by playing video games way into the night. It didn't seem to be working. "Damn it, last place!" Ella groaned.

"Watch your language," Mom ordered. Ella rolled her eyes and went back to the game.

A few minutes later, Ella was at it again. "Watch the road, you maniac, you don't have to take up the whole freeway!" she yelled at a totally random car. I figured out that Ella was really horrible at that game. "Oh, that's great. Run into the bush. What the heck are you, blind?"

She cast a sideways glance at Nudge, who put down her remote. "I didn't mean to say that," she said quietly. Nudge wiped a tear from her eye, sniffling slightly. "No, that's…that's okay. Let's just try not to think about…about…Iggy!" she sobbed, and fell over onto Ella, who started sobbing, too. I groaned and buried my head further into the ice cream.

"He went into a coma, and here we are playing video games!" wailed Ella, grabbing Nudge as if she was drowning in the ocean and Nudge was her life preserver. Total poked his head out of Angel's death grip to stare at them sleepily, and then fell back over, resuming his snoring. I was seriously considering grabbing another gallon of ice cream. That, or alcohol.

"And he didn't even get to see anything before he died!" Nudge sobbed, and looked as if she was cutting off the blood circulation in Ella's neck. "He hasn't seen anything since when he was a little kid! He always wanted to see a sunset…" Nudge sniffled as she grabbed a tissue and blew her brains out.

In a few minutes, they were reduced to crying softly. As much as I loved Iggy, I was amazed that I was more upset about Fang leaving me than I was about the idea that Iggy could possibly die, and if he didn't, he could still have a serious medical condition like going into a vegetable state or becoming mentally disabled.

Before I knew it, I was crying, too. And salty tears didn't mix well with the ice cream, let me tell you. Gazzy gave me a quiet smile, and I rubbed my eyelids. "Sorry, I think…a bug flew in my eye or something," I said softly, and looked away. He shook his head.

Nudge looked up at Ella suddenly. "Ella, can I ask you a serious question?" Ella nodded. Mom and I exchanged glances. Nudge had certainly never been serious before, even when she had been in the School. She was always making a joke of life. "Ella, why do you love Iggy so much?" That caught Ella off guard.

"W-What do you mean?"

"I'm just asking. You haven't even known us that long, and you barely know Iggy at all except for the little bit of time you've spent with him." Her voice was quiet. "And it's not like you're wrong. He's the best guy in the world. He's nicer than Fang or Gazzy. But what is it that makes you like him so much?"

Gazzy gave an indignant huff. I sent him an apologetic look, and continued listening in on their conversation. "Well…I know this was really hard for you, and I never wanted to make him choose. But it was when he came to rescue me when I was captured by that one lady. He was so…so nice to me. All the guys in my School and this crappy neighborhood are jerks. He was the first nice guy I met."

But then she looked at Nudge. "I know I probably ruined your relationship. I'm sorry for that, I really am. And I never meant to hurt you. We used to be friends. But I really think that it wasn't something I meant to happen. I'm so young. I'm not ready for anything serious. But this is the way I feel. Anyway, what makes you like him so much? A few months ago, you didn't have any interest in him at all."

"Well, you know how you can go through your whole life not noticing something, but then something happens to make you notice it, and you feel so silly, and you wonder why you never noticed it, because you really should have noticed it all along?" she asked hopefully. My brain was fried, but Ella nodded. "I realized, one day, all the good things about Iggy. He might be blind, but he's always been positive. Always happy. Maybe that's what matters most to me. In a person."

Ella nodded. "Well, then. We can't just decide for Iggy. Not that we'll be able to reach an agreement, and rock paper scissors isn't really fair. He has to decide for himself. So until then, let's compete earnestly, okay?" she smiled.

I turned back to Gazzy and my mom, who were smiling slightly. I took another bite of the ice cream, not feeling quite as empty as I had when I'd started out. But then I remembered Fang, and how nothing was getting better, and my eyes narrowed in frustration.

"You know, if you want to get him back here, you have to figure out why he left," Gazzy remarked, startling me. Since when was he the mind reader? "I know that you two can't live without each other. But I think it's a good idea to start at the beginning."

"I know why he left," I replied. "It was because I doubted him too much. What else is there to find out?" I was annoyed. I wished he'd just let me forget it all and start over again, or at least let me sulk in my ice cream and be miserable.

"That was just the straw that broke the camel's back," he shrugged. "But before that, something else was making him uneasy, I'll bet you anything. Something that made him worry and stress out in the first place. Trust me on this, he had something that he was hiding, and you doubting him was just what set him off for good."

"He's right," my mom added. "Lots of the times, it's not just one thing that breaks people up. It's everything. It can be several little things, but it takes that one thing to finally be the end of it. For Fang, this was apparently you not trusting. But I think the best idea would be to search his room for clues."

"Clues? This isn't a murder mystery," I gave an indignant huff. But maybe I would check into this. If it would help me to get Fang back, I'd do anything I had to.

And I _would _have to.

**FANG **

The next day, it was the afternoon by the time Michelle decided to visit me. I was leaning against the wall, hoping to fall asleep to take away some of the thoughts. I was sure that before too long, I would drive myself insane either from worry or lack of proper food/hygiene.

Trust me, you never realize just how important toilets are until they're brutally snatched away from you. But I won't go into that.

Back to the matter at hand. As always, I wasn't exactly happy when the stone door opened, but it was better than nothing. It was an excuse to speak to another human, or at least what I hoped was a human. I didn't really know what it took to put a human back together, and I wasn't in any hurry to find out. But Michelle walked into the room, and I saw that she didn't bring food with her, curse it all.

"What brings you here, on this beautiful day?" I asked in a bored tone, looking through the small hole I'd kicked in the grey-tinted window, where I could just see the smallest square of blue sky in it. She rolled her eyes and glanced down at me. I didn't look her in the eye. I had learned to never make eye contact with those who were truly evil. It was like they could see into your soul, which is creepier than you think.

"You need a bath," she looked at me in disgust. I fought back the urge to grab her neck and rip it off her body. Oh ho ho, so easy to criticize when you're the one who put me in this horrible situation, bitch. "Anyway, that's not why I'm here. Giving you indoor plumbing would go against the villain rulebook."

I huffed. "Anyway, I have good news. I liked your ideas, so you will not be killed today. Instead, we're working on making one of your ideas an idea – selling the vaccine in an over-the-counter pill for headaches. That way, more people will fall to my will and have no idea what's happening to them, and it'll spread throughout the country more quickly."

Sounds great, right? But wait, it gets better. "But I also added something. If you're subjected to a person who's taken the pill, it spreads like a disease, so only _some _people have to take the pill. Then those people will spread it to other people, who will also spread it, and so on and so forth."

I eyed her skeptically. "Sounds great. Can I have some food now?"

"No!" she stamped her foot. "You'll get food once you're done with a new task that I have for you."

"New task, what new task? Look, I've done everything that you've asked of me, even though it's killing me, and you won't let me escape. I've given you ideas to kill the girl that I love, and even she may not be able to handle it. And most of it, I've done without question because I don't want their expiration dates to show up. What the hell more do you want from me?" I asked bitterly.

She crouched down next to me and grabbed my chin firmly in her bony hands. "Listen closely, Fang. It's your job not to question me. You will do everything I tell you to _exactly _without question, or Max's expiration date _will _show up. I want the best. I want everything you can offer. I want results, and I want to win. And if you can't do that, well, you know the rest."

She held up a pill. "This is your idea. But of course, we need a test subject, to see if it works. So here's what you have to think about. If you take the pill, of course, you'll bend completely to my will. But if you don't, you'll have to deal with the usual threat. No expiration dates, in exchange for your free will. So what's it gonna be, Fang?"

She smiled, her eyes glinting. "You have until the morning to decide. There are security cameras in here, so I'll know if you took it. And if you haven't, well, you know how this goes." She just kept smiling. "I look forward to controlling you, Fang, manipulating you like the puppet you'll so easily be made into. Choose wisely."

And she was gone, leaving me with the tiny pill in my hands. And it all came down to this. What was really going to happen, if I took this pill?

Would I take the risk?

**MAX **

It had been two days by now. In those two days, not much had happened. I was trying to adjust to life the way it was, staying at home and just relaxing, trying to find a way to cope. I had helped to get Jeb off his feet and to the local YMCA to take a shower and get new clothes, and I just had to find a way to get Mom to accept him.

I had my own room, and now Gazzy had his, but I'd never gone in and searched for Fang's stuff. To be honest, I was afraid to. I didn't know what I would find, and I didn't know if I wanted to find anything. If I didn't find anything, it was still alright. It wasn't a specific answer. It could go either way.

If Fang was there, everything would have been better. If Iggy was there, everything would have been normal. But as much as I wanted to believe that this was the way we were supposed to live, I couldn't make myself think like that. I felt so useless, and there was a feeling nagging at my brain that I'd missed something.

One day when no one else was around, when the flock had gone out to pick out some clothes that they could finally live in, seeing as how we were going to be there for a while, maybe even permanently, I was the only one in the house, already having plenty of clothes that my mom kept around for me. And it was then that I decided to take advantage of it.

I walked down the hall. I knew I shouldn't have been scared. I shouldn't have been scared of the certainty. I never got scared, not about anything. I didn't really know what it was like to feel fear, until I walked down that hall. My hands were shaking as I turned the doorknob and flicked on the light switch and walked over to Fang's corner of the room.

I opened the drawer, and all I saw was a change of his clothes and a few drawings. It turned out that Fang was a very good artist. There was a drawing of Gazzy and Iggy working on a bomb, and another of Total barking at something in a tree. I picked them up one by one, there were more than I thought.

With every picture, I saw a little piece of our lives. Some were memories, others were everyday life pictures that still brought tears to my eyes. A picture of Nudge brushing her hair, a sketch of my mom trying to teach me how to cook. And there were some drawn from pure memory, I noted as my heart hurt, looking at a picture of us kissing in the sky, our wings overlapping slightly.

There were drawings of the chaos in the school gym, fighting for our lives fists pounded on doors that wouldn't open. I remembered that night, and cringed, remembering thinking that I'd lost him. And I saw drawings of how Nudge looked after destroying the School, her wings fanning out with blood sliding down.

When I was done, I put all the drawings back in the drawer without a word, leaving them all exactly as I had found them. But I kept one, the drawing of us flying and kissing and happy, a time that seemed so long ago. I folded it up and put it in my pocket, and it gave me comfort, and just the faintest trace of hope.

I was running out of time. They'd be back soon, and I'd spent too much time losing myself in the pictures. I tore the room apart after that, looking for clues. And finally, after almost an hour of searching, I found a crumpled up tissue under the mattress. When I unwrapped it, I found a small piece of paper inside.

I knew what it was. It was a piece of paper to a fortune cookie, the exact same fortune cookies we'd eaten in the Chinese restaurant not so very long ago. But Fang hadn't gotten a fortune cookie, I remembered that much. He'd simply passed it on. But he must have taken one by mistake, because this one was unfamiliar to me.

And it all fit into place. Fang had tortured himself over this little fortune and what it said. On the piece of paper, printed in tiny letters that had more meaning than just about anything else in the world, a few words were written.

_Remember that nothing lasts forever_. _Love is no exception_.

Was this what had driven Fang away?

**FANG **

After agonizing for hours, I knew what had to be done. I knew that if I didn't do this now, I'd regret it forever. Again, I was sacrificing something for the flock, but I didn't care. Anything to prolong their lives and make it just a little easier for them to live without me. I didn't want to, but I did. Maybe love was making me insane.

Or maybe for the first time in my life, I had my priorities straight. And I loved Max more than I feared Michelle.

So I did it quick, just like a Band-Aid.

I swallowed the pill, and waited the last agonizing minutes before it took effect.

My last minutes of free will.

**Thanks for reading! Seriously, I always pictured Fang as like this tortured artist kind of person D: Only, he'd draw emo things, like a bleeding wrist or something of the sort xD And the mysterious fortune cookie returns! Oh noes...Fang's going to be Michelle's little servant monkey, or so it would seem. :D **

**Review, and I'll give you a fortune cookie ;D **

**~Rachel**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N - Thanks for waiting! I just got back from vacation, so here you go! :) Thanks for being patient. Not that you had a choice. xD Hopefully all the angst will be coming to an end, soon! ^^ Until then, keep reading OR DIE. D: jk. By the way, anyone in Colorado, I have a question for you: HAVE YOU NO WAL-MART'S? All I saw was Safeway after Safeway after Safeway. I'm disappointed in you guys. T_T**

**Life of a Winged Teenger **

**Chapter 24**

**MAX **

I offered a bittersweet smile as I stood by Jeb at the end of the street, a block or so from my mom's house. "Do you really have to leave?" I asked, secretly hoping that he'd say no. What can I say? I guess he'd grown on me some. He nodded, and I sighed.

I'm sorry, Max, but living in your mother's shed won't help my situation with her in any way. In fact, I'd probably wake up to her beating me with a shovel," he chuckled. I could very well picture my mother whacking Jeb with a shovel shouting "die, die, die!". I shuddered lightly. "No, it's time for me to go," he looked up at the sky.

"You're not going to fly, are you?" I asked. I hadn't cut slits in his shirt, because, frankly, the idea of my father flying was just too weird. Or, the thought of _any _grown-up flying was weird. I couldn't exactly picture the flock and I flying, walkers in hand, at ninety years old. I wasn't sure they made a wheelchair with wings, either.

He shook his head. "To tell you the truth, I've almost forgotten how." He pressed a piece of paper into my hand. "My cell phone number," he answered my unasked question. "I'll be calling you if I have any news. For now, I wouldn't doubt that Michelle has something to do with this."

That's right, we were going to look for Fang. Jeb had agreed to leave my mother's house, but it wasn't like I begged him to. He was going to search the country for news of Fang's whereabouts, as best he could. And in a few days, I'd be leaving the flock to find him, too. I just hadn't told them yet.

"Since when are you guys on a first-name basis?" I asked, puzzled. As far as I knew, the only ones who called her by her first name were me and the flock. I couldn't understand why such a terribly evil person could have such a girly name. That was like trying to morph Fang and Justin Bieber.

"Oh, we went to the same grade school together," he waved it off, but I immediately remembered that picture I had found in that school, the one of the entire science club. Just how many people were in this science club. It sure was a small world. "She was in a science club with me and your mom."

Told you.

"Wait, are you saying that Michelle had something to do with Fang leaving?" I asked in disbelief. Then, I remembered something very important. "Hold on a second…Michelle is dead! Or at least, she's supposed to be dead! We killed her back at Itex! We saved the world!"

He shook his head. "No, you only thought you did. She's back, they totally rebuilt her into some form of a human and a robot. According to one of my old friends, who is now a spy working for her, she's been hiding out at another branch of Itex."

"But why does that mean that she has Fang with her?"

"It's unlikely. But there is a small chance…that he went with her because she threatened him, or something to that effect. Or he could have gone with her as revenge on you. I just don't know. But we're going to find out."

My eyes narrowed. I still remembered the battle at Itex, where he had pretended to be on her side. No. I shook my head. Just because Fang was angry at me and left, it didn't mean that he would go to her.

But what about what he'd said to me at the hospital? _I didn't have the heart to tell you that I didn't love you, after all your little hints. You practically threw yourself at me. _I bit my lip. He hadn't meant that, had he? "It wouldn't be his choice," Jeb answered. "A new pill was released under her name, something for headaches or something like that. Just yesterday, in fact. That could be the key."

My eyes widened. That would explain everything, why he had acted that way. If she had been controlling what he said –

"So Fang is…with her?" I asked, bewildered, and at the same time, giddy with joy. _That means that he could have been lying. He could still love me. _Jeb nodded. "There's a small chance that it could all be connected. For now, it would be best to look for Fang, first. I have a feeling you'll need the entire flock to fight her."

I nodded. "Alright. I'm leaving tomorrow, telling the flock tonight." And I knew exactly where I was going to start. I already had a plan. He nodded, and I stuck out my hand. He took it. "Please…try to find him," I whispered, and he was gone.

He didn't look back as he walked away, and I didn't say a word as I turned around. I knew that leaving the flock to go and search for Fang would be dangerous, and that nothing good could come of splitting up, as I'd learned a few months ago. But I couldn't pull a suffering flock up out of their sorrow to go look for someone who'd betrayed them. I just couldn't.

When I got to the end of the street and back to my mom's house, Jeb was gone, through the fog. I walked back inside and looked at the clock. I'd let the flock have a few more hours before I ruined their day with the news.

I looked out the window and noticed something important – my mother's car was in the driveway. When I'd left, she and the flock had been out to grab a cheeseburger for an early supper. But she was back now. Had she seen what had happened between Jeb and me? I stepped around the corner cautiously. "Guys?" I called.

I heard footsteps behind me, and whirled around, taking in the faces of the flock. The front door was open, and their only smiles for the first time in days had clearly died on their lips. Now they just looked stressed, anxious and scared. I reached out for Nudge, but she pulled away.

"What's wrong?" I asked slowly. They looked hurt. "Max," Angel stepped forward, tears in her eyes. "Max, when you were talking to Jeb just now…what's going on?" I saw the fear in her eyes. She'd 'heard' everything we'd said. And she knew everything. I closed my eyes.

They'd been listening. And I hadn't even been alert enough to sense that they were nearby.

"Come on, guys," I said tiredly, walking to the living room. I felt a sinking feeling in my stomach. I was going to have to say goodbye. "We need to talk."

**FANG **

Sitting in that small room for the entire night, wracking my brain, I had expected for the pill to take effect in the first thirty minutes. I mean, was there ever a pill that took eight freaking hours? I didn't think so. That could only mean one thing – the pill hadn't worked. It was completely worth it.

I was paranoid for the entire night. I kept waiting for something to happen, but nothing did. I was positive that I didn't feel any sort of ultimate respect for Michelle, so, naturally, the pill hadn't taken effect. Unless, you know, it was a totally _subtle _form of hero worship for the raving lunatic.

But what was I supposed to do? If I didn't completely "bend to her will", she'd assume that I didn't take the pill, even if I tried to tell her that it was defective. And what would happen? Bam. Just like that, Max's expiration date would show up. And to put it mildly, that would suck.

That left me with one choice. Or many choices, for all I know. But I didn't waste much time on thinking of a plan, and the plan I had was pretty good, so I didn't bother considering another. And what was my brilliant plan? Simple. I would simply _pretend _to be under her influence.

Yes, I'm a total rocket scientist. All I would have to do is _act _like I was having my brain controlled, and she wouldn't suspect a thing. That would _really _give me the upper hand. Well, you know, other than having no bathroom or shower or food or way out. She'd just think that I was under her influence, and therefore let me in on all her evil plans.

Now this would be easy, just acting like her little slave/pack mule/minion for a while. I was good at acting, wasn't I? Or at least, good at keeping silent and doing what Max told me to. That was kind of like being a mindless zombie, right? For my sake, let's say that it was.

The security camera in the room was staring me down at all times, so I sagged against the wall like I had either blacked out or falling asleep. After all, they had no idea what the drug technically did to you after you took it, so it could have caused drowsiness, for all they knew.

I allowed my eyes to close as I fought back a shiver against the cold floor. But I almost jumped in panic when I realized one small flaw in my plan. If I was asked to kill Max before I could get my hands on the Director, what would I do? If it was a flight, I would give it my all, and I didn't know who would win. If I hesitated…that would be that. My one chance to kill her would be wasted.

_Max, stay away from here, _I willed her to understand, even from miles and miles away. _Whatever you do, forget about me, and keep the flock safe. I need you to understand. Please. _

**MAX **

I felt all their eyes on me. Angel looked down at her feet. She hadn't told them. She didn't want them to be upset. And now here they were in front of me, expecting to hear the worst. _Just get it over with, _I heard her thoughts in my head, and a flood of guilt washed over me. _Just tell them. Kick us while we're down. _

I winced. "Guys, you know the last week or so has been rough," I began, and their unflinching expressions reminded me so much of Fang that it hurt. Angel rolled her eyes. "Iggy's in the hospital, Fang is gone, and it feels like we're all separating. So what I'm going to tell you…is not easy for me to say, and it won't be easy for you to hear."

"I'm leaving the flock," I blurted, and instantly regretted it. I bit my lip and looked away as their jaws dropped, excluding Angel. In seconds, I was bombarded with all the questions that I'd expected, and been prepared for, at least from my mom and Ella. Nudge was babbling like an idiot, and Gazzy was silent.

"Shut up!" I yelled, and held my head in my hands. "I'm sorry," I said softly. "And I know that you're tired of me only caring about Fang when Iggy might die and you all are stuck here, even though we finally saved the world." I didn't mention Michelle. I put her completely out of my mind. They didn't need that right now.

I looked back up at them. "I guess you all think I'm being silly, and that I only care about him because I'm supposedly in love with him, right?" I gave a dry chuckle. "We split up a few months ago, too. And you all hated it, because it was just me and him, and it was like we didn't even consider you." Gazzy grimaced.

I shook my head. "It's different this time. When I don't see one of you…I feel empty. Like when Angel was kidnapped. I knew we could have just given up, and assumed that it was too late. But I couldn't let that happen. It was wrong without her with us all the time. It didn't feel the same, and it wasn't."

Angel allowed a small smile. "Now it's Fang that's gone. Another one of my flock members that isn't here with me. And I need each and every one of you to be whole. We're a family, okay? I know there's something I can do to bring him back. We're a family. And I'll never let this happen again."

That was what I'd said the last time Fang and I had split up. I wondered if this would ever happen again. Who would I lose next? "But I'm not going to make you put up with more traveling to get him back. I can't put you through that. You're still just kids. So I'm going alone. You're going to be staying here with Mom."

Cries of protests arose. Angel put her head in her hands as Nudge jumped to her feet and Gazzy glared at me from the couch. "You can't do this!" Nudge yelled. "We're _all _a family! You always do this, leaving us out! It really is all about you and Fang, and how you _love _each other so damn much that you're always leaving us in the cold!"

"What the hell are we supposed to do, just sit here and wait for a phone call telling us that Iggy died or something?" Gazzy asked in disbelief. "It's probably going to happen, Max! As far as I'm concerned, I'm preparing for the worst, and I can't lose all three of you at once!"

"We never asked to be left home alone," Angel said quietly. "This is important to us, too. And just because sometimes you and Fang exclude us, we don't resent you for it. We want to come with you, and help you. This isn't something we can run away from. So as long as we can't, let us help you, for once!"

"I…" I was at a loss for words. "N-No! You've been through so much! I'm worried about you. You can't deal with this, it's too soon. I want you to get some rest, watch TV, and be kids, for the first time in your life! I love you guys. I want you to be happy. And I keep making things worse."

I bit my lip. I almost wanted to take them with me. But I didn't want to tell them about Michelle. It would kill them. Angel cast me a curious look before I spoke again. "I need to do this alone. I don't care what it takes. And you're not coming. End of story." I stood up, and walked from the room. I shut the door behind me firmly once I was inside.

Walking over to the large window over my bed, I opened it and counted the stars. I wondered if it was true what they said, that maybe Fang could see the same stars. Well, I'm not sure about that. Maybe the moon, then. _Fang_, I thought blankly, _where are you now? _

**FANG **

I heard footsteps coming down the hall, and I knew that it must be morning. I hadn't opened my eyes yet, because, technically, she hadn't told me to open them, so I was waiting for her command. If I was going to do this, I was going to do it thoroughly. The door clicked open, and I bit the inside of my cheek.

"Get up, Fang," Michelle said in a bored tone of voice. I did so, opening my eyes and sitting up straight. "Stand up," she ordered, and I did that, too, making sure to add a somewhat blank look to my eyes, like how they got when Angel pulled her mind tricks, or something to that effect.

It was morning, and looking at the clock with my peripheral vision, I saw that I'd been asleep for a good four hours, more than I usually got. She circled me, looking me over to see that I was under her control. But apparently, that wasn't enough for her. She wanted to prove that the pill really had worked. I guess she wasn't as stupid as I thought.

At first I thought she was going to tell me to sing a Kesha song or dance like a monkey or touch my nose with my tongue, you know, something awesome. But instead, she opted for a more mature approach. "Punch yourself in the face." Ah, clever. She wanted me to hurt myself, something that I'd never do if I wasn't under her control.

Without hesitation, I raised my fist and bashed it squarely into my nose. It hurt like hell, but I resisted the urge to fall to the ground and scream like a child. Instead, I looked her blankly in the eyes, ignoring the blood running down my face.

She looked at me in disgust, still not convinced. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at her and punch _her _in the face, just reminding myself of the usual threat. "Walk on the ceiling," she ordered. Oh, goodie. Apparently, when your mind is enslaved, you gain the ability to do things that you otherwise couldn't.

Without further ado, I whipped my wings out and began to walk up the wall, while frantically flapping my wings to keep me from falling over. I didn't even know how that was possible. And slowly, I took my first step on the ceiling, my wings beating like a hummingbird's. I took five or six steps, and then promptly fell.

At first I panicked, but I eventually flipped to do a graceful landing, fluttering down lightly. I gave her the blank stare. But more importantly, I encased the words, _fuck you, bitch_ encased inside. She must have been a mind reader. After shooting me a furious glare, she walked from the room.

I was able to breathe a sigh of relief…for the moment.

**At the hospital **

In the small hospital room, a nurse flicked on the light switch, gazing at the blind boy on the hospital bed. He was in such delicate condition, but from all his battle scars, you could tell he'd been through a lot. She replaced the flowers in the vase, and straightened up the room before hearing the noise.

Ever so softly, the sheets began to rustle as pale legs moved under the covers. The quiet breathing became rough and uneven, and soft eyes fluttered open. The nurse dropped the duster, which clattered to the floor. But this never happened. They never woke up, not so soon into the coma.

She ran from the room, and in seconds, the room was full of doctors. And as far as Iggy knew, he was back in the School. As they calmed him down and explained everything to his newly recovering ears, slowly testing out his muscles and ability to speak, the nurse was told to call up the family.

When she went back to the front desk to look up all the files on Iggy, she was surprised to find nothing. Scanning all their files, she couldn't even find a last name. She wondered briefly how they were paying for him. There wasn't anything in their records, not the smallest speck of information that they could use to track down his family.

As she was heading back to the room to inform the doctors that there was no possible way of getting in touch with his family, she tripped over something left on the floor – a small cell phone. She flipped it open, and looked at the screen.

The phone was new, she could tell that much from the "Happy Birthday, Ella!" banner on the front of the screen. Now, who was Ella? The nurse flipped through the contacts, looking for anyone. The only number programmed in was "Mom". So she pressed send, and an older woman answered. "Hello?"

"A-Are you the mother of an 'Ella'?"

"Yes. Who are you, and why do you have her new cell phone?"

"It was left here at the hospital. Um, do you know anyone named Iggy?"

"He's awakened from his coma."

There was silence on the other end as Dr. Martinez dropped her cell phone.

**MAX **

Five-thirty in the morning, and I was almost all packed up. I'd already showered, dressed, eaten breakfast and collected all the supplies I'd need on the trip. I sighed. I was the only one awake in the house, and I'd be leaving before anyone else woke up. I felt lonely. Usually, the flock was up and running around with me.

I heard a yawn behind me, and I looked over my shoulder to see Ella walking out of her bedroom in her pajamas. Her hair was sticking up, and her fuzzy slippers were on. She slouched over to the counter to get some coffee and cereal. "Morning, Max," she said sleepily. I nodded back.

"You must be happy," I smiled. "I heard from your mom that Iggy came out of his coma."

She smiled back. "I know." She walked to the counter and sat next to me. "He'll need about a week to get up and get used to walking and talking. It'll be shorter for him than for a normal human, though." She smiled. "But, um, there's something that I need to talk to you about."

"Sure, what's up?" I asked tiredly, grabbing a spoonful of her cereal. She eyed me reproachfully.

"Max, they need someone to stay with Iggy while you're gone. And my mom has work, so she really can't. I've decided that I want to be with him, Max. He needs someone to be with him, and I'm his friend. I think I should go."

I bit my lip. "What is Nudge supposed to think?"

"Nudge thinks it's okay," Nudge appeared in the doorway, smiling slightly.

I glanced at her hair and clothes. "Why are you all dressed and everything? You don't have anywhere to go today." But then the rest of the flock appeared behind her, all fully dressed and carrying their backpacks. And it dawned on me. "Oh no. Oh _hell _no. No way. Go back to bed. You're not coming with me."

And then they did something that I didn't expect. All at once, I was ambushed with three bear hugs. I groaned. Curse it all, I was weakening. I felt like a Max sandwich. "No fair," I muttered, and rolled my eyes. "Max, you're always there to help us with stuff," Angel smiled. "We're not letting you do this alone."

I glared at her. "This is the part where you fall victim to her heartfelt speech," Gazzy elbowed me, and I turned my glare on him. He flinched away. Heh heh heh. I rolled my eyes again, but I was smiling. "Come here," I ordered, and pulled them into another hug. "You're right. I need you guys."

I looked back to Nudge. "Are you sure about this? You can go to see Iggy, too," I whispered. I knew how much he meant to her. And I knew that she would be the first thing he wanted to see when he woke up again.

She shook her head. "She loves him, too. And I know that I have to give her a chance." She turned to Ella. "But, when you see him, could you give him this?" And she hugged Ella. Ella hugged her back. Wow. That was so cheesy and yet totally sweet.

I grabbed Angel's hand. "Come on, guys." I gave Ella one last thank you, and we walked out the door. In seconds, "I was in the air again, and all I could think of was how good it was to be back. I pulled out the crumpled picture of Fang and I. I was coming back to him, whether he liked it or not.

**Thanks for reading! God, I'm dying from the total lack of romance in my story right now. I need to find a way to incorporate some Fax in here, or it's buh-bye Rachel. xD Review! **

**~Rachel**


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